Sunday, July 6, 2008

by Ari

Here's the trailer for the new Alex Proyas/Nicolas Cage thriller Knowing. I hate to say this because I feel Proyas is a visionary, but when a trailer says "From the director of I, Robot", I think it's safe to say the film will barely resemble the Alex Proyas we know from Dark City, Garage Days and The Crow. Like I, Robot, the trailer for Knowing looks like the work of a competent mainstream director-for-hire, something you'd see from Martin Campbell or Doug Liman. Maybe it's decent (it's just a trailer, right?), but it's difficult for me to believe Proyas is directing this because the story is artistically inspiring. Is Proyas trying to secure a place of financial comfort for later projects? Or has it just become impossible for him to catch a break with his singular work? Either way it's extremely upsetting to see such a major talent reduced to your typical summer/thriller/disaster nonsense. I'm also uncertain about what happened to Nicolas Cage. Where's the actor from Leaving Las Vegas, Wild at Heart, Raising Arizona and Adaptation? Cage is on auto-pilot these days and I sincerely hope he wakes up soon.