3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Hypnotic

2023, Robert Rodriguez (Red 11) -- download

There is a type of movie, usually starring Nick Cage or ... well, Ben Affleck, a particular type of action/thriller with a light scifi bent that are.... well, just not very good. But they are usually well enough constructed to scratch an itch. But that's about it.

Of note, Ben Affleck has not really been in a lot of these movies but he sure feels like he has done a lot. There was Paycheck and there was... yeah nothing else. And Paycheck was 20 years ago?!?! 

Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck, Paycheck) is a cop in therapy. Years prior his daughter was snatched out from under his nose, in a public park, like they always are. A suspect was caught but he claimed to have no memory of doing it, nor was any evidence of her remains ever found. Rourke is a broken, distracted man. But during the surveillance of a bank heist they were tipped off to, where they witness seemingly average, normal people doing out of character things, he is teased by a photo of his daughter in a safety deposit box. He chases after the suspect, who gets away by having two other cops shoot each other.

The gimmick of the movie is that there are people with ESP-like, magical hypnosis abilities, able to make suggestions with mere words that force people to do whatever things the "hypnotics" like. Rourke has been dragged into a conspiracy involving his daughter and the most powerful hypnotic in existence, who has left the government agency that once controlled him.

Exxeeeept, that's not the movie. Spoilery spoilers forthcoming.

The third act begins with the reveal that the first two thirds of the movie are just a "construct", a vast pantomime created by the "hypnotics" to draw Rourke out of his self-imposed delusion of being a cop with a lost daughter. Oh, he has a lost daughter, and that's who they want, as she was genetically engineered to be the most powerful hypnotic ever. Think of the construct like a VR simulation but they use props and other people to more easily convince the hypnotized that they are in a reality of the hypnotic's choice. But Rourke, a hypnotic himself, breaks out of it and saves the day.

This is Rodriguez on auto-pilot, a not very well executed movie, but would be someone's second or third choice at  the video store, when all the other, better, more popular movies are already rented. I am thinking he could have done better, made it with a tighter script, a bit more style & mind-fuckery but couldn't be bothered.

Hand-waves a weak comparison to how Toasty often writes these post, churning them out with just the requisite amount of writing, grabbing his paycheck and going home, except without any paycheck. And then continuing to write about himself, as if that gimmick forgives the lack of effort.