Title: Premonition
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Mark Famiglietti, Kate Nelligan, Nia Long
Directed By: Mennan Yapo
Produced By: Andrew Sugerman, Lars Sylvest, Nick Hamson
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: March 16th, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violent content, disturbing images, thematic material and brief language
Distributors: Sony Pictures Releasing
When Linda Hanson is told that her husband Jim has been killed in a car crash, she is shocked to find him alive and well the next day. Linda’s premonition sets off a series of puzzling events as she tries to grasp the situation and stop the accident from happening. -Yahoo! Movies
I'll be honest. I owe it to you readers. It has now been four hours since leaving the theater and I still don't know what the point of this movie was. I asked three other people who were attending the screening and they didn't know either. So hopefully this review isn't as disjointed as the movie was. Most movies of this type leave clues for the viewers to pick up on that point you to where the plot is going, even if the characters themselves don't see or aren't quick enough to catch them. Premonition just throws events at you willy nilly and lets you try to sort them out on your own. I honestly wonder about the state of cinema when an untried director like Mennan Yapo ( this is only his third try at directing) can get a star like Sandra Bullock to be in a film this bad.
What makes it bad? Almost everything. The acting, while not great isn't what kills this movie. Bullock and McMahon can't really be blamed here but they could have turned up a little. The cinematography was bland with no style. Just straightforward storytelling which is fine if you have a good story to tell but here it just adds to the faults of the film. The way events unfold left me in a cloud of confusion. Supposedly Bullock knows that something is wrong and has a slight idea of what is going on, yet when she sees the things that have already happened she is clueless and only makes a real effort to save her hubby in the last five minutes of the movie. In one scene (without any prior mention of God, religion, faith or the church), Bullock goes to church to talk to the Father who just happens to have a book with post-its marking many different cases of premonitions and fortune telling. How handy is that? And, the only thing offered as an explanation is he says, “It's been a while.” and then you never see him again. That's just one example! Another example is the ending itself. So if you don't like spoilers, skip the next paragraph.
**Spoiler Alert**
Nothing changes! He still dies! The only difference is that she is pregnant. The accident that kills him happens almost exactly the way it did in the first place except this time, Bullock is there to watch her husband die! Oh, they try to make it interesting by panning down to see her protruding belly in the last scene but by that point you really don't care anymore. I was to busy wondering why she didn't try harder to convince him not to go on the trip. And don't even get me started on the daughters disfiguring accident that tries to be a shocking moment but just leaves you wondering “What the hell?”
**End Spoiler**
What's good about Premonition? The movie poster. That's about it.
I can't even think of a fitting end to this review except this. If you choose not to heed my warning and go see this, please, write me and tell just what the point was, ok? I'd really appreciate it. Then, tell me why you went and saw it anyways.
Keep reading,
Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com
