Predestination

To save the future he must reshape the past.

2014Science Fiction, Thriller
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Overview

Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent (Ethan Hawke) sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.

Metadata
Title Predestination
Director Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Director of Photography Ben Nott
Producer Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Michael Spierig
Runtime 1 h 37 min
Certification R
Release Date 28 August 2014
Tagline To save the future he must reshape the past.
IMDb Id tt2397535
Homepage —
Actors
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor, Christopher Kirby, Madeleine West, Jim Knobeloch, Freya Stafford, Elise Jansen, Tyler Coppin, Christopher Stollery, Christopher Sommers, Kuni Hashimoto, Sara El-Yafi, Paul Moder, Grant Piro, Christopher Bunworth, Jamie Gleeson, Christina Tan, Dennis Coard, Milla Simmonds, Ruby Simmonds, Cate Wolfe, Ben Prendergast, Carmen Warrington, Sharon Kershaw, Charlie Alexander-Powell, Smith Alexander-Powell, Olivia Sprague, Katie Avram, Melissa Avram, Giordano Gangl, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Monique Heath, Sophie Cusworth, Finegan Sampson, David Rock, Richard Whybrow, Felicity Steel, Lucinda Armstrong Hall, Lucinda Armstrong Hall, Maja Sarosiek, Vanessa Crouch, Eliza D'Souza, Sophie Van Den Akker, Madeleine Dixon, Hayley Butcher, Rebecca Cullinan, Alicia Pavlis, Ewa Bartecki, Arielle O'Neill, Alexis Fernandez, Kristie Jandric, Marky Lee Campbell, Rob Jenkins, Raj Sidhu, Annabelle Norman, Scott Norman, Kristen Norman, Michael Norman, Louise Talmadge, Carolyn Shakespeare-Allen, Noel Herriman, Ray Tiernan
Images
Trailer

Time-travel with a twist. Based on a 13-page 1959 short story by Robert Heinlein known as ‘the mother of all time travel paradoxes’, this movie is neither about the special effects nor about the science of time travel, it is about people.

Ever since Gattaca, I always give Ethan Hawke movies a go, and he does ok here, but Sarah Snook is the better actor in this film in my opinion.

It does feel like a 13-page story being stretched into a full movie at times (the start is a bit slow), but once you get the story it flows very naturally. There are a number of twists, most of which you see coming as the story unfolds, but that doesn’t detract from the story at all: that is the story.

It is a fairly small Australian movie, currently on limited release in Europe (that means: look for it in the arthouse cinemas, not the megaplexes), and will be released in the US in January.

This movie is definitely best seen without any knowledge of the plot. Don’t even read the plot summaries or reviews on IMDB (7.5) or Rotten Tomatoes (82%) as they are full of spoilers.

It is not a fantastic movie, but well worth a watch for something different from the mainstream superhero fare that seems to dominate the box office these days.

 

  • Does it have a hook? Yes.
  • Is it entertaining? Yes.
  • Should you watch it? Yes, especially if you like ‘strange stories’ like The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits.