Movie Review: Blink Twice

 

Michael's Movie Grade: D-

 Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut is a misguided, clichéd and unsubtle thriller. 

The main problem with this movie is that it is incredibly predictable the whole way through. It is one thing if a comedy, an action flick or a romance film are this predictable. However, in a suspense movie being predictable is deadly. It is hard to be on the edge of your seat, when you figured out what is happening so early on. When the big reveal takes place there is not an ounce of surprise or shock because all the clues leading up to it were so obvious. In fact, this even makes the film really drag at times, while you wait for the characters to finally figure out what you already knew. What doesn't help is that there are scenes that remind you too much of other recent thrillers like The Menu or Don't Worry Darling, though this film is much weaker than those two. In fact, when those scenes came up, I was wishing I was watching those films instead. As well as being a thriller this movie also tries to be a social commentary and a dark comedy. Unfortunately, it fails at those as well. Despite being so desperate to say something, this film does not say much of anything. Acknowledging that rich people who use their wealth and power to take advantage of woman are horrible people is not saying anything groundbreaking but instead simply using common sense. We know these are horrible people and the film hardly offers us further insight than this. There is also a message about women needing to stand with each other rather than against each other. I completely agree with this message but the way it is delivered is horrible. The way this message is delivered is through awkwardly written dialogue that lacks even the tiniest bit of subtlety. The dark humor on the other hand is never that funny and often leans more on characters being obnoxious rather than any clever writing.

The only thing about this movie that work is the look. This is a very handsome looking movie. The sets, the cinematography and the lighting all make this a visual treat. Unfortunately, it fails completely in every other department.

Go watch something else.