Hypnotic movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Hypnotic

This psychological crime mystery is now available in theaters.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 32 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

The mind-bending movie was written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, along with some rewrite help by a family member: Max Borenstein. Rodriguez also recruited other family members to help him in various roles of the filmmaking process. His son, Rebel, composed the musical score, while his daughter, Rhiannon worked on storyboards, and his other son, Rocket, helped him with editing.

The story is about a detective who investigates the mystery of his missing daughter and a secret government program.

THINGS I LIKED:

The capable cast includes Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, William Fichtner, Jeff Fahey, JD Pardo, Jackie Earle Haley, Dayo Okeniyi, Kelly Frye, and the adorable young actresses Hala Finley and Ionie Olivia Nieves.
The film definitely plays on every parent’s worst nightmare: experiencing the kidnapping of their child.
The hypnotic power that certain characters have in the film is the same Jedi mind trick we’ve seen and loved in Star Wars movies, something everyone wishes they could possess. These are not the drones you’re looking for.
There are a few moments of light humor, but otherwise, the movie is a very serious action drama.
The twists are entertaining and forced me to rethink everything I had previously seen. I love movies with layers that challenge me to guess what’s going to happen next.
Apparently, the director really gets a kick out of the line about betting a bartender to see if he could pee in a glass, because he used the same line in the movie Desperado in which Quentin Tarantino stated it.
There are quite a few action sequences that keep things moving.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some Ben Affleck fans might not enjoy the actor’s dead-pan delivery in his role as a detective. Some might even say he was phoning it in. Others think it was perfect to represent a man who was completely traumatized after having his daughter kidnapped.
The movie is completely unrealistic, so don’t even try to point out plot holes.
Because of the many twists, there are a lot of scenes loaded with exposition to explain what just happened.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity in English and Spanish.
Some Spanish is spoken.
Brutal, bloody deaths.
People in perilous situations.
Destruction and crashes
Murders with a high dead-body count
Weapons of various kinds are used
Violence

THEMES:

Hypnotic constructs
Free will
Choices
Family
Love
Sacrifice
Imagination
Control
Trauma
Perception

INTERESTING LINES:

“Hands up!” – Daniel Rourke (Ben Affleck) “But I’m the wrong man.” – Park Bench Man
“Hynotics have the ability to influence the brain, sound, voice, locking eyes. Hypnotics use them to make you see a version of the world that doesn’t exist.” – Diana Cruz (Alice Braga)
“Hypnotics make everything that you see and do feel perfectly normal.” – Diana Cruz (Alice Braga)