Premonition (12A)

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Director
Mennan Yapo
Starring
Sandra Bullock

The ViewLondon Review

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Review byMatthew Turner14/03/2007

Two out of Five stars
Running time: 96 mins

Premonition starts well but it's ruined by a deeply unsatisfying final act that makes a mockery of its intriguing premise.

What's it all about?
Sandra Bullock stars as Linda Hanson, whose seemingly normal life with her husband Jim (Julian McMahon) and their two daughters (Shyann McClure and Courtney Taylor Burness) is suddenly shattered when she learns that Jim has been killed in a car accident. So she's understandably shocked when she wakes up the next morning to discover that he's still alive.

Convinced that she imagined Jim's death, Linda writes the whole thing off as a nightmare, but the following morning she wakes up to find that Jim's dead again. Is she going mad? Or is something strangely supernatural going on?

The Good
Bullock is extremely good at this sort of thing, although for obvious reasons the film doesn't allow her much room for wisecracks which is a shame because it desperately needs a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour.

McMahon is good too and there's strong support from Peter Stormare as a creepy doctor. However, Nia Long struggles in an underwritten supporting role as Linda's best friend.

The Bad
At first glance, Premonition looks like a sequel to The Lake House, which also dealt with weird time anomalies, although at least that film stayed true to its premise. The biggest problem with Premonition is that around twenty minutes before the end it stops being a supernatural thriller and becomes something altogether more sentimental instead, leaving you feeling rather cheated as a result.

In addition to the deeply disappointing climax, the entire film collapses under close scrutiny, as there are plot holes you could drive a truck through.

Worth seeing?
Premonition is enjoyable enough for the first 70 minutes or so but it's completely ruined by a terrible final act that fails to exploit the film's premise and leaves the audience feeling cheated. Walk out when the priest appears and supply your own ending instead.

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Content updated: 13/02/2012 17:46

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