Dead Again
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Movie Reviews of Dead Again
Movie Review: Good Melodrama
Summary: 4 Stars
With the help of Derek Jacobi, Branagh makes the most of a modest screenplay to provide a watchable film. Reviewers have more than adequately summarized the film; one hardly knows what it is legitimate to say about any film of this genre since giving away plot lines is contrary to the code of ethics of the Mystery Story League. At any rate, suffice to say that Jacobi is his customary masterful self, the female star is more than a bit beautiful, and the character actors have a chance for some decent bits. I see I am about 18 years late in seeing this film but my enjoyment should be a small clue that it still has something to offer for the small (comparatively speaking) screen viewer.Movie Review: Dead Again Hits Dead On
Summary: 4 Stars
If you like a mystery, mixed with the metaphysical. If you like heavy drama, Mixed with some pretty heavy characters, then this is the movie for you. There are many twists and turns that keep you guessing. And don't get up for snacks or bathroom breaks without hitting that pause button or just might miss that clue you been looking for. A good story with good performances. Robin Williams and Andy Garcia give great performances as supporting actors. A movie well worth any movie lovers time.Movie Review: Done Well
Summary: 4 Stars
I find this film to be extremely interesting with an excellent cast. Robin Williams plays a small role and, as usual, plays it well. The twists in the plot are both unexpected and somewhat brilliant with all actors excelling in their performances.Movie Review: 3 stars out of 4
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bottom Line:
A clever and exquisitely-directed film, Dead Again is exceptionally interesting before it devolves into a dreadfully cliched, slow-motion finale.
Movie Review: A Minority Report
Summary: 3 Stars
This minority report says that DEAD AGAIN could have been, but is not, a great film. DEAD AGAIN was obviously made as a loving parody of the Hitchcock/film noir genre, because some scenes, camera work and music are so broad that the tongue positively sticks through the cheek. However, much of the movie is played straight, and thus, overall, the tone is confused. My minority report says that the American accents of Branagh and Thompson, both superb British actors, were not convincing. In fact, their efforts to sound American in their modern "incarnations" caused their acting to suffer. Branagh thinks that to sound American is to be a Noo Yawkuh (sorta), and Thompson is so busy trying to sound Amurik'n that her character lacks luster, even taking into account that the character is a victim of amnesia walking around in a perpetual state of hyper-vigilance, caution, confusion and/or dread. Similarly, I disagree that the performance of Robin Williams was good. His character was creepy for no particular reason, although one sinister close-up of him looking back at our protagonists hints at some darker purpose, which is never revealed. Just another "fake out" in the service of phony film noir suspense.
Yes, the film has a very clever plot twist at the end. But my minority report has a serious bone to pick with those reviewers who feel that DEAD AGAIN holds up on second viewing, once you know the secret: A major flaw involves the sloppy use of flashbacks in the form of hypnotic regressions that are performed on Branagh or Thompson by Derek Jacobi's antique dealer-hypnotist. Although ostensibly coming from either Branagh's or Thompson's hypnosis session, the flashbacks frequently reveal both their actions, even when they're separated from each other at the time. For example, during one of Branagh's hypnosis sessions, he recalls being inside at a party, having a conversation with another man, while simultaneously somehow recalling Thompson and Garcia outside having a conversation in the garden. It's impossible for Branagh to have been in two places at once. He couldn't possibly have heard or seen the interaction between Thompson and Garcia that is supposed to be a product of his own memory. The audience thus receives more information than it logically should. This method of plot exposition is fundamentally flawed.
And somebody please explain to me how a person that's been stabbed deeply in the knee with a sharp pair of scissors can still walk, or how somebody who's been shot at close range in the left side of the chest can revive themselves sufficiently to fight on and survive.
Add up these annoying inconsistencies and deficiencies (and others I won't bother to list here), and place them side by side with the earnest and committed work of otherwise excellent actors. You end up with a 3-star movie: entertaining in a campy, kitschy kind of way, but not great, as it might have been. See the film if you love the actors, but be prepared to be disappointed.