High-Octane
Summary
Hypnotic doesn’t have as much action as I’d like but it still has decent performances with William Fichtner making for a fun villain without being too over the top.
Plot: A detective investigates a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program.
Review: I’d been curious about this one ever since it was announced not only because of the cast that was assembled but also because of the way that Robert Rodriguez described the film as “Alfred Hitchcock on steroids” which piqued my interest in this even more.
Hypnotic is one of those films that will certainly divide audiences, particularly with the number of twists that are presented throughout, however, to me this was an entertaining film that managed to subvert those kinds of twists and make them creative without making it feel too contrived. It reminded me of Basic which was another film that featured a lot of twists but managed to execute them well.
The cast all around is quite good, in particular not only Ben Affleck but especially Alice Braga who is quite likable throughout, and William Fichtner who’s shown that he can play a capable villain without making it feel overly cartoonish.
The story is quite intriguing and well-written for the most part, particularly with subverting the genre tropes that it presents.
Anyone expecting this to be a full blown action film might be disappointed as there’s not much action besides what you see in the trailer as this is more of a Sc-Fi mystery thriller.
Overall, Hypnotic is an enjoyable film that is well-acted, has an interesting story, and features some solid direction by Robert Rodriguez. It isn’t exactly action-packed but it’s an entertaining sci-fi thriller.