Reminiscence is a thrilling Westworld-style sci-fi movie that needed a better ending
Date:
Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:00:00 +0000
Description:
Reminiscence lands in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday heres our spoiler-free review.
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Its curious that in the midst of a global pandemic, post-apocalyptic movies and TV shows have never been more popular. From Netflixs Sweet Tooth TV adaptation to the acclaimed sequel A Quiet Place: Part II, dystopian stories have surprisingly become our go-to form of entertainment. Maybe it's just weirdly reassuring to see the world go to hell in a way that's a little more stylish than it is in reality.
The genres current popularity seemingly bodes well, then, for Reminiscence. Warner Bros upcoming sci-fi thriller certainly has the ingredients to be successful an all-star cast, a mysterious plot with shades of Gone Girl and Memento, and a visually arresting post-apocalyptic setting that offers a glimpse into a potential future for our planet but how does it fare as a spectacle?
Despite retreading certain genre tropes in its plot, particularly as we get deeper into the film, Reminiscence is a tense, thrilling ride thats both inventive and realistic enough to override these shortcomings. Here's everything you need to know about HBO Max before Reminiscence's release These are the best movies to watch on HBO Max HBO Max free trial : is one currently available?
Set in a reality where an environmental disaster has left much of the Earths landmass underwater, Reminiscence follows Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator who has repurposed a piece of army technology that
allows him to solve mysteries by reliving paying customers memories.
After one particular client Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) walks into his life and changes it for the better, she vanishes into thin air. This simple case turns into a nightmare for Nick, as his search for Mae leads to him inadvertently uncovering a massive conspiracy involving dangerous people.
Reminiscence is a dystopian sci-fi story with a noir-style mystery at its core, then all the parts are familiar, but what sets it apart is its rich world building, stellar performances and the elegant way it combines its two genres.
Lisa Joy, the showrunner on acclaimed HBO series Westworld, is the films writer-director, so fans of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi show will immediately feel at home in a similarly bleak but visually appealing and detailed world.
From its opening flythrough shot to its holographic-style sequences the latter are used to portray individuals memories Reminiscence is a beautiful-looking movie. The transitions between the simulated memories and real-world scenes are fluid and, at times, the disorienting nature of how theyre spliced together adds to the mysteriousness of the plot. You cant tell whether Nick is in the present day or reliving one of his own memories, especially early on, which adds to Reminiscences distortive experience.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
The movies setting, too, feels futuristic without straying too far into total implausibility. The technological advancements, such as Nicks memory-inducing machinery, seem advanced enough that they wont happen in our lifetimes (if ever), but the world he lives in is still sufficiently modern that its architecture, modes of transport, society and culture arent dissimilar to our own. The latter grounds the movie in realism and makes it seem that, barring
a bona fide climate-type disaster, this is a world we could conceivably live in.
Of those survivors who do inhabit Reminiscences world, its major stars are
all on top form. Jackman is outstanding as a man who appears to have his life together but, as he digs deeper into the mystery surrounding Mae, comes unstuck mentally as the movies twists and turns put him through hell.
Rebecca Ferguson and Thandiwe Newton also thrive as Jackman's co-leads. Fergusons Mae is more layered than her femme fatale persona initially makes her seem, while Newtons Emily Watts Sanders (Nicks longtime colleague) is a great foil to Jackmans Nick. The trio ooze chemistry when they share screen time, so its a pity that such occasions are a rarity in the grand scheme of things.
Reminiscence may be a sci-fi film at its heart, but its hard to overlook the influence that Western movies have had on it, too. From Ramin Djawadis guitar-heavy score to reimaginings of classic Western-style shootouts in one set piece, Reminiscence is as much an ode to these iconic films as it is a glimpse into a plausible future. Given Joys expertise at combining these two contrasting genres in Westworld, its unsurprising to see some of the same points of inspiration here.
While theres plenty to like about Reminiscence, it's still a flawed movie.
The story has numerous twists and turns thatll keep you guessing, but its finale ends up being standard thriller fare. Reminiscences story unravels in
a slow and intelligent manner for much of its runtime, but its ultimately let down by an ending that feels both anticlimactic and like something weve seen before.
Its exploration of its themes is also somewhat lacking. Corruption, trauma
and the divide between rich and poor are examined provocatively in individual moments, but not with any detail throughout the movie.
Floridas seedy underbelly is waiting to be explored in-depth in Reminiscence but, while we get a little taste of it, we dont get to investigate it more thoroughly through Nicks eyes and, ultimately, thats disappointing. Just a little more effort put into this world-building would've gone a long way.
What we think (Image credit: Warner Bros,)
Reminiscence is an enjoyable sci-fi mystery wrapped in cautionary messages about climate change and being careful what you wish for or, rather, being careful about what you go looking for.
It deserves praise for its believable neo-futuristic world, wonderful cast
and blending of genres that Joy has had previous success with. Still, its frequently riveting plot doesn't retain its momentum as its finale
approaches, unfortunately which only makes this a good film, rather than a great one.
Still, whether you're watching it on the big screen or HBO Max, an original sci-fi movie with a proper budget and real stars is worth treasuring these days. If any of that sounds appealing to you, Reminiscence is worth a watch.
Reminiscence launches in theaters and on HBO Max on Friday, August 20. Dune
: what we know about the upcoming epic sci-fi movie
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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/news/reminiscence-is-a-westworld-style-sci-fi-movie- with-cautionary-tales-at-its-heart/
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