Hypnotic

3
Clever mind trick

The Plot: Austin Police detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) is still trying to solve the mystery disappearance of his young daughter from in front of his eyes. Tormented by the past, he buries himself in his work. Acting on a tip-off, he stakes out a bank where he spots a distinctive stranger who will become known as Dellrayne (William Fichtner). The stranger is using hypnosis as a way of convincing bystanders to engage in bank robberies. Dellrayne escapes, so Danny tracks down Diana (Alice Braga) – an expert not in hypnosis but hypnotics i.e. taking mind control to the next level. As he investigates further, he uncovers a dark conspiracy…

The Verdict: While his filmography has varied wildly in consistency, Robert Rodgriguez is at least focused enough in his direction to tap into an interesting concept, build it up into something cinema-worthy and then let his imagination play out onscreen. Returning to the big screen for the first time since 2019’s Alita: Battle Angel, Rodriguez has dug up an idea that’s been rolling around inside his mind like a pinball for the last two decades. Hypnotic is a high concept (i.e. the plot could be written on a postage stamp) crime thriller with science fiction overtones, focusing on the criminal use of hypnotics to render people extremely susceptible to suggestion. This goes beyond simple parlour tricks to instead distort a person’s reality and make them act in an uncharacteristic way. This is where detective Danny Rourke finds himself, tracking down a master mind manipulator at the centre of it all.

Rodriguez has described Hypnotic as Hitchcock on steroids, which is fair enough given the multi-layered plotting and narrative twists and turns. Though, it would perhaps be more accurate to describe Rodriguez as tipping his cowboy hat towards Christopher Nolan, the Wachowski siblings and even a dash of Michael Bay. His script with Max Borenstein gives off the impression of a late 1990s / early 2000s thriller that might have featured Sylvester Stallone in the tortured detective role, a la D-Tox. It has enough interesting ideas to keep an audience entertained, using clever Jedi mind tricks in the foreground to distract the audience from its own inconsistencies grinding away in the background (showing events from different perspectives). Look closer and the script has been cobbled together using various segments of better films and then put through Rodriguez’s famed 10-minute film school to give it a Texan sheen.

While the script is indeed derivative and gets increasingly outlandish as Danny’s reality becomes warped by Dellrayne’s malign influence, Rodriguez does so with a certain finesse and undeniable style. It helps that he got Ben Affleck on board, a solid anchor for the visual fireworks and flights of imagination on display as walls shift and environments become inverted. Characters remain enigmatic and their motivations only revealed late in the game, with more than a few twists in this hoary tale of mind control gone awry. Nolan might be duly impressed with the homage, though Hypnotic is a tighter affair and an hour shorter than the typical Nolan mind-bender. Its economy of scale and approach to filmmaking is admirable. Veteran character actor William Fichtner (a frequent fixture in the 1990s) brings a double helping of mystery and danger to his role and raises the film up a notch while keeping the stakes ever higher. A typical Rodriguez family affair, son Rebel Rodriguez rounds out the film with an evocative Hans Zimmer-style score to give it a more emotional impact.

Hypnotic is familiar enough filmmaking from Rodriguez, drawing from other sources and presenting it as something new but with a twist. While it’s not quite original thinking, Rodriguez has still fashioned an enjoyably pulpy thriller. It’s never less than entertaining and still has a few surprise tricks up its sleeve to sell it as a decent night at the movies, popcorn and all.

Rating: 3 / 5

Review by Gareth O’Connor

Hypnotic
Clever mind trick
Hypnotic (USA / 15A / 93 mins)

In short: Clever mind trick

Directed by Robert Rodriguez.

Starring Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, William Fichtner, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeff Fahey.

3
Clever mind trick