Knowing - DVD Review

'Not Half Bad films are films that are mindlessly entertaining, Friday night popcorn fare. Art-house, Global Cinema and documentaries are most definitely banned and will be shot on site and blown up in various extravagant and over-the-top CGI ways if they are seen to approach.'

Much like The Time Traveller's Wife, I approached Knowing more in hope than expectation. Colin Murray described it as 'the worst film I've ever seen' whilst various people had warned me about 'it' in general and 'it' referring to a rather dubious flaming moose.

Nice then, to come away from it with that most mundane yet satisfying of reactions: 'you know, that wasn't half bad.' Not Half Bad films (or NHB as they shall forthwith be known) are films that are mindlessly entertaining, Friday night popcorn fare, that you can sit through once and probably put on again in the background whilst you're doing something else in roughly two years time. The Day After Tomorrow is a NHB. Enemy of The State is another one. Superbad would probably qualify out of left-field. The first Transformers is a prime example (the second doesn't qualify on account of it being not even half good and certainly more than half bad). Art-house, Global Cinema and documentaries are most definitely banned and will be shot on site and blown up in various extravagant and over-the-top CGI ways if they are seen to approach.

Knowing is fairly mindless, pretty entertaining, decently acted, pure-bred NHB fare. Nic Cage is probably just above his recent usual standard of acting 'prowess' and he carries the film along nicely, ably assisted by a couple of decent child actors. The direction by Alex Proyas is completely mundane and un-inspired but, providing you have a good story, great effects and enough genuine momentum in a NHB film you really don't need too much talent. Just point the camera at the highest paid man on set and/or the thing currently blowing up and you'll be fine.

Personally (and I'm excluding the moose here) I thought the effects were some of the best seen recently. I'm not sure whether it's too soon after 9/11 to see such graphic images of plane and subway crashes (this is a decision which must be made by individuals) and they are simultaneously horrific events presented in a genuinely realistic and devastating way. This is one of the film's major strengths throughout - it doesn't pull its punches.

The conclusion shows this off well, along with great conviction of story-telling, even if the final scenes show poor judgement on Proyas' part making it a simultaneously satisfying and annoying finale. Characters are wrapped up in the exact ways they should be but not, necessarily, in the exact ways you would expect of such block-buster fare. Throughout there are satisfyingly un-blockbuster style developments which again, will divide people on how they conclude. The mysterious men in black for example had a good level of scariness to them without them ever being revealed as giant beasts with big tentacles (think along the lines of the aliens from Signs before you saw them). At their final reveal (like said aliens) they lose all threat and any feeling of 'there's something in the woods' is quickly dispelled, although, it is probably necessary for the story.

Overall, I thought Knowing was at a similar level to the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still and if you thought that film was a NHB then this will probably sit in the same category. If you hated that you won't find anything resolutely new to like here, excluding the above, and will probably spend the minutes following the conclusion discussing one of the worst uses of CGI ever seen. Really, why did the flaming moose need to be there?