As its title so bluntly suggests, Knowing likes to think it knows the answers to life’s big questions; is human life the result of random chance, or was it predetermined? Do we control our future, or is it decided for us?  Is Nicolas Cage still capable of making a good film, or will The Wicker Man forever be his undoing?

This last question is obviously of the most importance, but before I attempt to answer it, allow me to digress…

Casting the infamous Nicolas Cage is a mixed blessing for a filmmaker. Commercially speaking, it comes with the guarantee of a profitable return; Next, Ghost Rider and Bangkok Dangerous all made a profit at the US box office alone, despite being exceedingly average films. Which brings me to unfortunate side-effect of casting the Cage; critics love to hate him, which tends to then rub off on his films.  You see, somewhere after the excellent Adaptation and before the woeful Bangkok Dangerous, Cage starred in a so-bad-it’s good remake of The Wicker Man.  Knocking the lights out of unsuspecting women in a bear suit, Nic Cage’s performance made him a living piñata for film critics and cinephiles all over the world.

Which is why Knowing is a bit of a revelation. Against all odds, it’s not actually half bad.

Don’t get me wrong; Nic Cage’s performance in this sci-fi thriller is as wooden and jarring as ever.  Yet to director Alex Proyas’ credit, the film rises above the ‘Cage effect’ and comes out a respectable disaster film regardless.

The story itself doesn’t push any boundaries; Proyas’ script uses the number games of Mercury Rising to predict future disasters in a fashion similar to that of Final Destination, thankfully managing to be more accomplished — but no less preposterous — than these films. Beginning in a 1959 Massachusetts classroom, a tormented young girl by the name of Lucinda suggests her class draw predictions of the future, all of which will then be placed in a time capsule that is to be opened in 50 years time.  Instead of drawing the likes of flying cars and robots like the rest of her peers, Lucinda instead scribes down a page of seemingly random numbers. Fast forward fifty years to the capsules opening, Lucinda’s page of numbers lands in the hands of Caleb, (Chandler Canterbury) the son of MIT Astrophysicist John Koestler (Nicolas Cage). John, who after the death of his wife in a fire believes life is merely the offset of chance, is forced to rethink his philosophy when a bunch of these numbers catches his eye -91101.

“That reads September 11, 2001!” I hear you instantly proclaim. It sure does, but don’t spoil it for John just yet, as the MIT professor takes a bit longer than the rest of us.  It’s not a once off occurrence;  each time John makes his latest discovery out as some kind of revelation, you’d have already solved it a good 15 minutes prior.  In fact, take one glance at the film’s poster and you already know too much.

Yet even though the film is predictably plotted, Proyas take on the disaster film is also quite refreshing. Maybe it’s because John is a bit slow to catch on, but it’s nice to see a character who isn’t capable of saving everyone. In a welcome return to Proeys’ Dark City way of thinking, Knowing is actually quite gloomy; the underlying message is that people inevitably die, and whether you’re Nic Cage or not, there isn’t much you can do about it. It helps that the disaster sequences are genuinely horrific, thanks to some spectacular special effects and sets. In one impressive scene, Proyes takes a solid lesson from Children of Men and depicts a plane wreck in a single, harrowing, take; people are seen burning alive, engine exploding and debris flying. Call me morbid, but it’s good to see a disaster film live up to such a title for once.

Yet these scenes of destruction certainly seemed to affect me more than they did Nic Cage’s character. It’s almost as if his faced is permanently etched to look forlorn; Cage shows the same expression kissing his son goodnight as he does witnessing a plane crash.  Someone forgot to tell Cage that there is a degree of difference between these two scenarios that he might want to convey at some point.  Or maybe he’s simply not that into parenthood. Who knows…

Verdict:

Despite being predictably plotted and featuring a typically listless performance from Cage, Knowing employs some impressive visual effects to bring morbid consequence to the refreshingly dark scenario, all of which puts the film a slight cut above your typical disaster film.

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