A great cast does not always a great movie make. Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Mahershala Ali lead a cast that also includes Myha'la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, and in a small but significant part, Kevin Bacon in this apocalyptic "thriller". It thrills for about 45 minutes with a great premise (and a wild scene at the beach), but it ends up as the most boring "Twilight Zone" episode ever.
The acting is as good as expected from this cast but just about all the characters are annoying. While the premise pulls you in, things happen with no explanation (which I can accept) but almost no reaction from the characters (which I can't accept). If something really strange happens wouldn’t you tell someone right away rather than wait to casually mention it later in the film?
Set in a beautiful Long Island home for most of the film, the most interesting thing is the architecture as we watch the cast wait for "something to happen". To keep us awake, the characters and the viewers are exposed to a very annoying noise at various intervals. Mr. Bacon, in basically a cameo, induces the most tension in his one scene, which considering the state of our country these days, is scary in a very real way.
Director Sam Esmail doesn't help by stretching out the story at a snail's pace. When the big reveal does eventually come, all I kept thinking was "wow, we have just given our very real enemies a blueprint to attack our country". Thanks Mr. Esmail, who also wrote the screenplay.
Available on Netflix, I wish I could leave this movie behind.
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