Hypnotic (2023, Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, J D Pardo, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley, William Fichtner) – Classic Movie Review 12,529

Ben Affleck sleep-walks through co-writer/ director Robert Rodriguez’s lame and soporific 2023 sci-fi action mystery thriller film Hypnotic.

Like a man hypnotised, a very tired and weary-looking Ben Affleck sleep-walks through co-writer/ director Robert Rodriguez’s lame and soporific 2023 sci-fi action mystery thriller film Hypnotic.

He plays Danny Rourke, an Austin Police Department detective investigating a series of seemingly impossible high-end heists, who gets embroiled in a mystery involving his missing, abducted seven-year-old daughter Minnie (which ended his marriage), and a secret government programme.

Affleck is grim, grizzled and growling in a reprise of his unappealing Batman performance, and shows no chemistry with co-star Alice Braga, who gives an annoyingly abrasive performance as fortune-teller Diana Cruz. Other normally reliable and charismatic performers J D Pardo, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley and William Fichtner are squandered too, and seem at a loss to know what to do. The fantasy premise, or concept if you will, is very silly, and no one can make it even vaguely convincing or exciting.

The pretentious, fun-free script is full of half-baked, stale ideas and useless dialogue, luckily mumbled by the actors, and is perplexing and impenetrable. It seems to want to be The Matrix or Christopher Nolan’s Inception, and strains to get there, but it just can’t. The photography, editing and production values are totally weak and poor, with the short bursts of action just plain generic.

The sole redeeming feature of this boring film is its short running time of under 90 minutes, but even that is no help, as Hypnotic’s running time feels like about three hours. It looks really cheap and low budget, but apparently it cost $65 million.

Robert Rodriguez also produces, co-shoots, and edits the film, while his sons Rebel Rodriguez and Racer Max are the composer and producer. The screenplay is by Robert Rodriguez and Max Borenstein, based on a story by Robert Rodriguez, which he apparently wrote back in 2002, calling it ‘one of my favourite stories’.

Shooting took place in Austin, Texas, from 27 September to 19 November 2021.

Hypnotic was co-produced by Solstice Studios and Studio 8, and released in the US on 12 May 2023 by Ketchup Entertainment, with the worst opening weekend of both Rodriguez and Affleck’s careers. It took only $5.7 million at the box office.

The cast are Ben Affleck as Danny Rourke, Alice Braga as Diana Cruz, J D Pardo as Nicks, Dayo Okeniyi as River, Jeff Fahey as Carl, Jackie Earle Haley as Jeremiah, William Fichtner as Dellrayne, Zane Holtz as Trout, Ruben Cabaalero as Watkins, Kelly Frye as Viv, Sandy Avila as Thelma, Ryan Ryusaki as Bong, Hala Finley as 10-year old Minnie, and Ionie Olivia Nieves as seven-year old Minnie.

In November 2019, Solstice Studios announced a partnership with Studio 8, with Hypnotic as their first film. But in October 2021, Solstice laid off most of its key executives, including its CEO, after firing 20 people in December 2020. This left only ten Solstice staff to oversee the completion of Hypnotic, after which Solstice shut down. Hypnotic was acquired by Ketchup Entertainment in February 2023.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,529

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