Overdosing on flashbacks, and more portentous than profound, the overly obtuse Premonition weakly echoes such twisty classics as Memento, The Sixth Sense, and Groundhog Day.
Overdosing on flashbacks, and more portentous than profound, the overly obtuse Premonition weakly echoes such twisty classics as Memento, The Sixth Sense, and Groundhog Day.
Devastated upon receiving the news that her husband has been killed in a tragic car accident, a woman wakes up to find him still very much alive as she begins to slip into a confusing world where the past and the future become increasingly difficult to distinguish. Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) was an average housewife with a loving family, but when a policeman comes knocking on her door with news that her husband, Jim (Julian McMahon), was involved in a fatal car accident, Linda's world slowly
begins to unravel. While her grief is at first overwhelming, Linda assumes that the whole thing was nothing more than a vivid dream when she wakes to find her family still very much intact. With each passing day, however, Linda's reality shifts and her circumstances grow increasingly surreal; one day Jim is dead and the next he is right there by her side. As her investigation leaves her convinced that her husband's death wasn't a dream and that her picture-perfect life may not have been quite as flawless as she thought, Linda embarks on a mind-bending journey to prevent her grim premonition from becoming a reality. Now, in order to save the man she loves, Linda will have to piece together a perplexing mystery that seems to span two separate planes of reality. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Confusing, convoluted and yet gripping and emotional almost in spite of itself Premonition is the first movie Sandra Bullock has successfully 'carried' in years.
The script could have used some analysis itself. After proceeding for an hour in its fairly obvious supernatural path, suddenly the movie decides to get religious.
As Premonition slowly creeps toward a ridiculous faith-based climax or two, you may feel compelled to take a nap yourself. When you awake, it may all seem like a bad dream -- but why is your wallet missing $11? Scary.
Like a lot of mediocre movies it's not about much more than the immediate emotional response it's trying to generate. The filmmakers realize this and make an effort to shoe horn some themes in ... it just makes an already muddled movie even more muddled.
If the director seems to show Sandra no mercy as she's instructed to run around breathlessly for two hours in circles through the past, present and future in no particular order, imagine the even greater toll this movie takes on the exasperated audience.
At times intriguing, often confusing and ultimately frustrating, Premonition jumbles the past and present as Sandra Bullock's young wife and mother tries to change fate.
Could have been a darn snappy thriller, but the listless relationship at the story's core, plus ham-handed handling of the essential flashback/ flash forward scenes doom it.
No quotes approved yet for Premonition. Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'Premonition'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
63%
——
97%
Top Critic
