‘Reminiscence’ Spoiler-Free Review

A Masterclass in How a Riveting Concept Becomes a Sluggish Movie

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If a machine allowed you to experience your memories, would you use it? It’s a question that ‘Reminiscene’ not only begs but also utilizes to propel its plot. Memories always make for an interesting theme to center a movie around. We all have movies we would love to revisit or forget. I’m not talking about memories in the colloquial sense. When talking about ‘Reminiscene’, we’re talking about fully immersing yourself in memories.

The concept is unique and poses so many questions for the audience. However, you may want it to be one of those memories you forget about after watching this movie. Much like ‘Inception,’ advanced technology is employed as a plot device in ‘Reminiscence.’ Unlike Inception, however, the device is squandered by the overall lethargic nature of the movie.

Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Premise

Nick Bannister (played by Hugh Jackman) helps his clients navigate their past by accessing memories. While living on the dystopian sunken Miami coast, his life will never be the same after taking on a new client, Mae (played by Rebecca Ferguson). A seemingly simple problem of lost keys ends up becoming an obsession for Bannister. As he searches for the truth about Mae, he stumbles upon a larger conspiracy. To figure out Mae’s true past, he must chase down some of the most dangerous people in the city.

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Barry’s Bites Review — Score = 7.4

As an idea, this movie was right on the money. It’s genius to use a machine to conjure characters' memories to push a current plot. The filmmaking and script possibilities are almost endless.

This is a crucial reason why the road it ended up traveling along was so disappointing. Instead of exploring the fascinating world lurking around these characters, it chose a narrow path.

All of the marketing called it “The most original movie of the summer.” When in reality, this script was going to be a tough sell no matter what kind of captivating dystopian future you drop it within.

Speaking of dystopian movie worlds, this one was truly intriguing. During the entire movie, I wanted to learn and explore this world outside of the story. I wondered how the city of Miami was almost underwater. Also, what war the characters kept referring to throughout the movie. Unfortunately, we had to rely on a narrator (Hugh Jackman) to provide the pertinent context.

Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Hugh Jackman can usually put on an acting display worthy of any screen, which makes some of the scenes in this movie so perplexing. On the one hand, there’s a certain acting muscle that Hugh has buried in his bones from his Wolverine days. It’s a reflex that he can easily conjure up during intense scenes.

Yet, during some scenes, Jackman seemed to stall. It's almost like he didn’t have something to reference his emotions against. In all fairness, he was likely acting against a green screen and without another actor/actress.

Rebecca Ferguson and Thandie Newton shined in their roles. Rebecca Ferguson, playing Mae, radiated as an elusive romantic counterpart to Jackman. Yet, she can add her own style of impalpable secrets beneath the beauty she conveys to the outside world.

Newton played an adequate balance to Jackman’s character throughout the movie. This may be nitpicking, but her appearance never really matched her character. She was supposed to play an alcoholic yet was always dressed like she just walked out of the salon.

The main issue with the movie is the overall story and, more specifically, the script. The first 75% felt like misplaced puzzle pieces. It relied heavily on Jackman narrating for it to make any sense. Instead of exploring the future dystopian world that the filmmakers created, everything was left for the narrator to explain. Maybe the idea was to cut some of the fat off the movie to squeeze the run time below 2 hours.

In the end, it was the last 25% of the movie that explains why the first part was so choppy. Also, the ending reveal brings together all of the mystery so that the audience won’t walk away with any questions. I wish the movie didn’t rely so heavily on the backend. If the first 75% had been more engaging, it would’ve been a better overall movie. All of that being said, it was still entertaining and one that audiences should check out to form their own opinion. Check out the trailer below!

*This article was originally published in the Film Cut