|
| . |
|
Godsend 2004 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Nick Hamm
PG-13, 102 min. (violence/frightening images, mature themes) |
 |
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Robert De Niro, Cameron Bright, Jenny Levine, Deborah Odell
Producers: Marc Butan, Sean O'Keefe, Cathy Schulman
Screenplay: Mark Bomback
Cinematography: Kramer Morgenthau
Distributor: Lions Gate Films
Released: 4.30.04 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Godsend is certainly not a Godsend for moviegoers - this is one of the most inept, pointless, and bizarre films
I've seen in some time. Easily the year's worst film to date, Godsend is the perfect example of a film with promise, only
to completely unravel in a meltdown worthy of epic proportions. It's also the latest film to deal with the fertile ground of
the human cloning controversy, but after a fascinating setup it inexplicably turns into a horror-fest, complete with Omen
and Chucky-like dimensions. The final act is so jaw-droppingly ludicrous that I literally could not believe what
director Nick Hamm and respected actors such as Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, and Robert De Niro had done to
this picture. Most viewers, some of which will find themselves laughing out loud towards the close, will
invariably ask, "What happened?" Well, it's obvious that screenwriter Mark Bomback didn't know either. His unwillingness
to provide any semblence of a conclusion is the last insult in a convoluted, simply embarassing motion picture.
After tragically losing their 8-year old son Adam (Cameron Bright) to a freak accident, Paul (Kinnear) and Jessie (Romijn-Stamos)
are approached by a shady doctor/scientist, Richard Wells (Robert De Niro), who promises to reunite them with Adam via
a clone. After contemplating the ethical implications of such a decision, the couple give in to their unquenchable pain and
suffering at the loss of their family and move to a new location to become Wells' experiment. Fast forward eight years,
and Adam has fulfilled the couple's every hope for a new family. But once Adam passes the age when his first version
passed away, he begins to have visions and nightmares that cause him to engage in dangerous behavior. Is it an evil
influence in his life or merely a coincidence?
The film's shocking collapse is intensified in the light of its first act, which sets the stage effectively and seems to promise
an interesting study into the unpredictable world of cloning. By the time Adam begins to reveal his homicidal tendencies,
the film has veered so far off its initial course that the rest is not unlike watching a train wreck ensue without any way
to prevent it. The characters, situations, and setup of each scene take on an increasing stupidity, as if they were constructed
to one-up the previous scene, resulting in a masochist-like unraveling. Everything from Adam's continual unsettling closeups to
startling "gotcha" moments in dark corridors to irritate viewers is complete, leaving Godsend in a spiral of horror clichés and
irredeemable fodder for the genre. Finally, the idiocy that drowns its final moments only puts an exclamation point on its
crash-and-burn resolution.
When a film goes this wrong, one begins to question the involvement of its participants. What exactly compelled De Niro,
Kinnear, and Romijn-Stamos to lend their talent to such a horrific screenplay? A paycheck is the obvious answer, but
there comes a point when one's pride must become a factor; perhaps they were misled, but this is an oversight of epic
proportions. And Cameron Bright, who showed the charms of the first Adam, turns into a caricature of evil that makes
similar child-centered thrillers look masterful by comparison. Godsend is one of those films that is bad enough to keep most
viewers far away from after word-of-mouth travels quickly from those unlucky enough to sit through this disaster of
a motion picture.
© 2004 Jonathan Cornwell
|
|
 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
© 2000 - present ReelCriticReviews
All movie pictures are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of their respective holders
Their use on this site is for informational purposes only and does not imply ownership
|
