Let's say
that the level of intelligence a film possesses
can be judged by a line. Some films, like "The
Godfather" for example, have a line that looks
like this:
5------------------------------------------------------
4
3
2
1
0
Other films possess no intelligence at all. The
perfect example would be the 2002 blunder "XXX."
Look at the difference:
5
4
3
2
1
0------------------------------------------------------
Now, you must be wondering: What does this have
to do with "The Forgotten"? It has to do with a
film phenomenon I have dubbed "Film Brain
Decay." Look at the chart for "The Forgotten":
5
4--------
3 ---------------------
2 --------
1 -------------
0 -------
"The Forgotten" is not a brilliant film to begin
with. The story involves a woman (Julianne
Moore), who is still grieving for the loss of
her son in a plane crash 14 months prior to the
start of the film. One day, she wakes up only to
find that all evidence of her son has
disappeared; photos, videos, the memories of
others...confused and hysterical, she soon finds
herself pursued by NSA agents as well as other
shady figures. Plot twists begin to pile up on
top of each other and the plot "thickens."
You'll probably figure out what's going on long
before her, though.
What begins as a somewhat interesting premise
quickly dissolves into a true mess. A mess of
great proportions. Things become incredibly
ridiculous and every action scene is the same
thing as the previous chase. Repetition,
repetition. PLOT TWIST, chase, repetition, PLOT
TWIST, repetition, chase...if you plan on seeing
"The Forgotten," get used to that.
Also be prepared to laugh, because many of the
"serious" moments, especially late in the movie,
are so poorly handled, that the entire audience
I saw the film with was laughing.
"The Forgotten" will most definitely make my
bottom 10 of 2004. This is a truly pathetic film
that only has the grade it does because of the
mere presence of Moore and Gary Sinise, in a
thankless role as a psychiatrist.
©
Written by Jacob Hall
TC Candler's Comment
I liked it
and got wrapped up in it primarily because of
Julianne Moore's performance. She is
typically brilliant here. Also, keep an
eye out for one of the scariest impact scares of
all time!!!
Richard
Propes' Comment
n/a
