Sci-fi thriller. 2009. 121 min. With NICOLAS CAGE, Chandler Canterbury and Rose Byrne. Director: Alex Proyas. 13.
Rating: 3/5
Reviewer: Adam Cooke
In 1959 a group of school kids draw pictures of what they think the world will be like in 50 years’ time. The pictures are placed in a time capsule and in 2009 the capsule is opened. A boy, Caleb Koestler, takes one of the pictures home - it’s simply a page covered in numbers scrawled by pale-faced horror child Lucinda 50 years earlier. Caleb’s father is the rather sad single parent astro-physicist John Koestler (Cage), who begins to realise the numbers relate to important dates.
It turns out the freaky Lucinda has predicted most of the world’s major human disasters of the past five decades. Then John realises some dates are still to come, and so begins his desperate attempt to prevent the looming apocalypse.
This film is not one of Cage’s or Proyas’ greatest moments but for a teen who fancies a bit of a scare factor - complete with tall pale guys in trench coats - and some great special effects, including one unforgettable plane crash, it’s worth a watch. Bonus: featurettes.
