“Sometimes we are asked to do things that are beyond us.”
– Doak
SYNOPSIS: A father and son go on the run, pursued by the government and a cult drawn to the child’s special powers. – via IMDB
Alright, so obviously this movie got a lot of hype. I have seen both other hyped films of Nichols (Take Shelter and Mud) and I was rather underwhelmed by both. Not because they are bad, but because they weren’t as good (for me) as they were for others. I didn’t think I was going to love this movie, and thought I would feel pretty similar to his others. I was right. It was okay, but totally overhyped. I liked the way they looked at a cult (not as in depth as I would have hoped, but I always find it fascinating). I thought that the reveals and the explanations were very slow, if ever they did make an appearance, which was rather annoying. Not because I need to be spoon fed a movie, but this was just a mess and all over the show. I also have major complaints about how dark the movie was at times. And no, I don’t mean content, I really mean the lighting. I hate not being able to see chunks of a film because of that. I thought that Joel Edgerton and Michael Shannon were, as to be expected, extremely good and the movie is well worth the watch for them alone. They really carried the whole film for me. I feel that the characters were flat and there was no character development in the movie, which did frustrate me quite a bit, too. It felt a bit hollow. The movie did look really good though, I have to say. Every time I hear about this movie, I think about the Creedence Clearwater Revival song. So does my husband, so I am not alone. Midnight Special is not a bad movie, and I know a hell of a lot of people that enjoyed it immensely, but I was not one of them. I thought it was alright, but not something I will be rewatching anytime soon.
I’ve been looking forward to this movie since I saw the first trailer. I wish you had liked it more Zoe. You’re usually spot on with your reviews.😐
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I wanted to like it more, I did, but it would have taken one hell of a movie from Nichols to win me over. Then again, I am in the extreme minority with this one. I hope you do enjoy it when you get to it!
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This is such a weird movie! I’m in the ‘loved it’ camp but when I left the cinema after seeing it, I couldn’t even work out what I thought about it, let alone whether I liked it or not! I had to sleep on it. I can see why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though 🙂
– Allie
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Thanks Allie! Yeah, this movie wasn’t my cup of tea, and I liked that you had to sleep on it to decide, love it when a movie can make you think that much. Unfortunately this wasn’t like that for me.
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Hi Zoë, bummer you didn’t love this one. Where did you watch the film? I don’t remember the movie being too dark, yeah that certainly would lessen your enjoyment watching it. I haven’t seen Take Shelter yet, but though lots of ppl love it, I’ll approach it w/ neutral expectations 🙂
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I watched it at home, and there were huge chunks that were just too dark to see what was going on. Oh well. I guess this just confirms that Nichols is not my cup of tea. I hope you enjoy Take Shelter when you get to it.
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That’s totally ok. There are some well-loved directors I just can’t get into, i.e. Nicolas Winding Refn, Darren Aronofsky, etc. mainly because their films are generally not my cup of tea.
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Bestie! Great review! Sad you didn’t enjoy it though. I don’t really have a desire to watch it yet, maybe someday.
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Thanks mah kindest! Yeah, it was okay, but nothing special.
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Oh, I haven’t seen this one yet but I remember really wanting to when the trailer was released. I love this genre, it usually brings something new to the table. Maybe I’ll enjoy it a bit more, let’s hope so. Great review nonetheless, nice read! Are you by any chance sharing your work on any other movie/tv platforms at the moment?
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Thanks! I hope that you do enjoy it when you see it! If you like this genre, you probably will. I am in the minority with not liking this movie a hell of a lot. I am not sharing my work anywhere at the moment.
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Well, if you’d be interested in sharing your work elsewhere, allow me to introduce you to Moviepilot/Creators. I’d be more than happy to expand on that so feel free to shoot me an e-mail. You can find my contact details on my blog. 🙂
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I don’t think this movie was over-hyped…I don’t think it got much hype at all and didn’t stay in theaters too long. I enjoyed it, but I totally get where you’re coming from. This director always leaves me satisfied, but nothing beyond that.
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Not sure how it was when released – but it has been everywhere online for reviews, and people have been singing the praises, hence I feel it was a bit overhyped. I was hoping for a movie from him that I would this time really enjoy, but it seems it was just not meant to be! I am glad you enjoy his work!
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