“Predestination” chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for all eternity. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
Genre : SF/Thriller
Country : Australia
Cast :
Ethan Hawke : De Barman
Sarah Snook : The Unmarried Mother
Noah Taylor : Mr. Robertson
Director : The Spierig Brothers
My opinion
“What if I could put him in front of you, the man that ruined your life. If I could guarantee that you’d get away with it. Would you kill him ?”
Sigh! Where are those good old days you could enjoy a movie about time traveling like “Back to the future“,”The Terminator“,”Timecop” or recently “Looper” while lying relaxed in your seat without craving for a glass of aspirin as the film progresses ? The principle of paradoxes known to time traveling is cited in these films (like Michael J. Fox becoming blurry and the threat of disappearing because of his parents growing apart), but isn’t of primary importance for the entire motion picture. “Predestination” is something completely different and is put together pretty damn clever and shrewd. But I assure you, the numerous plot twists and interwoven time loops will make you completely dizzy. The film is a hard nut to crack and requires tremendous concentration. It’s a film where you go from one surprise to the next. It’s similar to the “chicken and egg” conundrum. At one moment you are very sure that the egg came first, but new developments and revelations make you doubt this fact again and you’ll revise your conclusion.
The film is based on the short story “All you Zombies” from A.Heinlein and tells the story of a “Temporal Agent” (Ethan Hawke) who, using an ingenious violin case, can travel back and forth again through time in order to prevent crimes . Especially that of the mysterious “Fizzle Bomber” who’s responsible for a destructive bomb attack in the 70’s in New York killing about 11,000 people. In a bar the agent, who is employed as a bartender, listens to the story of a certain John, who looks like a kind of Brian Molko from the 70’s. What comes next are some bizarre drawn out story lines which, as the film slowly proceeds, merge into one point to ensure an obvious highlight. I’m not going further into details because this would only reveal the intricate puzzle. Unfortunately the final denouement only evokes a “Ah that’s how it is” reaction. Eventually it’s just a quirky fictional story with an identity crisis as central topic. However I think that the level of difficulty of this film will be a bit of an obstacle for most spectators.