Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Lots of violence in leaden Affleck sci-fi action movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Hypnotic
What's the Story?
In HYPNOTIC, police detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) is in therapy, trying to recover after the sudden disappearance of his young daughter, Minnie. He heads back to work with his partner, Nicks (J.D. Pardo), investigating a series of bank robberies in which the thief steals only a single safe-deposit box. Rourke gets to the next safe deposit box first and finds a strange clue: a photo of his own daughter. At the scene, they also encounter a man called Dellrayne (William Fichtner), who seems to be able to influence people to act against their own will; he even causes two officers to shoot each other. The trail next leads Rourke to fortune teller Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), who agrees to help Rourke find his daughter. But they must stop Dellrayne before he gets too powerful.
Is It Any Good?
A surprisingly leaden dud from the normally kinetic Robert Rodriguez, this sci-fi movie pushes its stars through reams of colorless exposition and a few chintzy-looking FX scenes. It's not long into Hypnotic before it becomes clear that the characters are doomed to take a back seat to the story. Despite mighty efforts by Affleck, Braga, and the others (including character actors Jackie Earle Haley and Jeff Fahey), they can never break out of their cardboard confinement.
Perhaps worse, the story that dominates things isn't very good. It feels like a discarded first draft by Christopher Nolan, trying to smoosh together concepts of "hypnotics," who can control people, and the resetting of one's brain, two ideas that don't logically connect. They seem randomly thrown together, used mainly to create artificial "twists" by upending whatever reality we happen to be in. Then these ideas are even further back-burnered by a movie that focuses on routine chases and fights. A deeply unsatisfying ending caps things off. Normally Rodriguez seems like he's at least having fun while making his movies, but with Hypnotic, it feels as if the weight of the world was on his brain.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Hypnotic's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
If you had "hypnotic" power, how would you use it?
Did Rourke do the right thing in freeing Minnie from The Division? Why, or why not? How might this decision apply to real life?
What would be the benefit of resetting our brains?
Did you notice any positive diverse representations in the movie? What about stereotypes?
Movie Details
- In theaters : May 12, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : May 30, 2023
- Cast : Ben Affleck , Alice Braga , William Fichtner
- Director : Robert Rodriguez
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Ketchup Entertainment
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence
- Last updated : May 24, 2023
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