This could have been a great film. With such an outstanding cast, and potentially intriguing plot, but unfortunately it is just stupid. I really wanted to like it, but I struggled to like anything about it. The script was banal and the topic poorly researched. Someone was just plain lazy putting the story together. Here are some examples that really irritated me.
Dr Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) is a psychologist who researches and debunks paranormal phenomena, in particular exposing frauds. Yet inexplicably she chooses not to investigate Simon Silver (Robert De Niro). Why? Because she has been riddled with guilt morning til night for 30 years after he made her DOUBT for a second. What??? What is wrong with a skeptic having doubts? Skeptics should have doubts, or at least be open to the possibility of having doubts. Scientists are supposed to ask questions and objectively seek evidence. You can't be objective if you have already made up your mind. Surely her momentary doubt should motivate her to investigate more thoroughly?
That brings me to the second problem. The head of the Scientific Paranormal Research Centre, Dr Shackleton, prior to running his experiments states publicly that he expects to find proof of Silver's powers. Not objective. And Silver himself gets to approve the team of investigators. Not objective. These are serious flaws in the design of a scientific experiment, which is supposed to be free from bias and where the researchers need to be independent of the subjects. Even the media, let alone scientists, would reject this "experiment" as just hype for lack of objectivity and independence.
Third irritation. Basic research would show that psychics are not a grab-bag of special powers. They claim to specialise in particular areas. But Silver bends spoons and performs psychic surgery and projects thoughts onto photographs and reads minds and levitates and moves objects. That's like making an Olympic athlete run, jump, throw javelin, swim, ski and shoot. De Niro's character would've been so much more credible had it actually resembled the behaviour of real life "psychics". Obviously films have licence to stretch the truth, especially with this kind of subject matter, but it still needs to be believable or it just doesn't work.
Finally, the twist at the end that apparently no-one sees coming. Could've worked, but handled very clumsily. Really just a poor copy of the ending of the Sixth Sense. By the time you get to the end you're expecting a twist of some kind, but at that point I didn't care enough to try to work out what it was.
Sigourney Weaver is the only reason I'm giving it 3/10. De Niro just looks silly.
Dr Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) is a psychologist who researches and debunks paranormal phenomena, in particular exposing frauds. Yet inexplicably she chooses not to investigate Simon Silver (Robert De Niro). Why? Because she has been riddled with guilt morning til night for 30 years after he made her DOUBT for a second. What??? What is wrong with a skeptic having doubts? Skeptics should have doubts, or at least be open to the possibility of having doubts. Scientists are supposed to ask questions and objectively seek evidence. You can't be objective if you have already made up your mind. Surely her momentary doubt should motivate her to investigate more thoroughly?
That brings me to the second problem. The head of the Scientific Paranormal Research Centre, Dr Shackleton, prior to running his experiments states publicly that he expects to find proof of Silver's powers. Not objective. And Silver himself gets to approve the team of investigators. Not objective. These are serious flaws in the design of a scientific experiment, which is supposed to be free from bias and where the researchers need to be independent of the subjects. Even the media, let alone scientists, would reject this "experiment" as just hype for lack of objectivity and independence.
Third irritation. Basic research would show that psychics are not a grab-bag of special powers. They claim to specialise in particular areas. But Silver bends spoons and performs psychic surgery and projects thoughts onto photographs and reads minds and levitates and moves objects. That's like making an Olympic athlete run, jump, throw javelin, swim, ski and shoot. De Niro's character would've been so much more credible had it actually resembled the behaviour of real life "psychics". Obviously films have licence to stretch the truth, especially with this kind of subject matter, but it still needs to be believable or it just doesn't work.
Finally, the twist at the end that apparently no-one sees coming. Could've worked, but handled very clumsily. Really just a poor copy of the ending of the Sixth Sense. By the time you get to the end you're expecting a twist of some kind, but at that point I didn't care enough to try to work out what it was.
Sigourney Weaver is the only reason I'm giving it 3/10. De Niro just looks silly.