Review: Premonition

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How many times have we seen the plot where someone goes back in time to save a loved one from dying? What makes each of them stand out? What makes them a good one opposed to a bad one?

In the latest of this genre, Sandra Bullock stars as Linda Hanson, a housewife who seems to be living a standard week out of sync. The insane part is that during that week her husband Jim (Nip/Tuck's Julian McMahon) dies in a rather sudden car accident. As Linda wakes up every morning, a new piece of the week falls into place and the question still remains: when the day of accident arrives can she save Jim?

We have seen this type of scenario a billion times in movies. The gimmick in this film is a little different and often it is a man saving a woman, but it all is about the same.

I never thought in a million years I would ever say I like Sandra Bullock as an actress, but she really surprised and impressed me with her role in 2005's Crash. She was also quite good in the almost forgotten Infamous as Nelle Harper Lee opposite Toby Jones's Capote. I still think her performance in Crash was the best of her career. The crazy part is that you can see an echo of that performance in her character here. The scene where she meets the cop at the door to hear of her husband's death is amazing. The look and panic on her face is utterly priceless. But sadly, that is the only scene in the whole movie that really works.

The supporting performances from Peter Stormare, Julian McMahon, and Amber Valletta are just rudimentary, cardboard, and phoned in. Even when there was supposed to be emotion coming from these characters, it was like they were caught in a vacuum.

There is a lot of bad editing, camera work, and shifting of scenes – maybe the director was trying to achieve a different look for film but instead just gets an incoherent mess. The whole attempt just doesn't work. I found some scenes to be shot so amateurish that it felt like I was watching dailies. The whole opening sequence and funeral is just horrendous. I have seen Ghost Whisperer episodes with better timing and thrills than this film.

The film is directed by Mennan Yapo, who won some critical acclaim for his 2004 German thriller Soundless. Premonition is his first big Hollywood production and sadly it shows.

Bullock's strong performance just can't overcome the utter amateurish and cardboard production. (1 out of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

Tags: Premonition, Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon

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