Determined to find his missing daughter, Minnie (Hala Finley), detective Danny Rourke (Ben Affleck) finds himself spiraling down a rabbit hole investigating a series of reality bending crimes where he will ultimately call into question his most basic assumptions about everything and everyone in his world. Aided by Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), a gifted psychic hypnotic, Rourke simultaneously pursues and is pursued by a lethal specter hypnotic, Dellrayne (William Richtner)--the one man he believes holds the key to finding his missing girl--only to discover more than he ever bargained for.
Others to round out the cast are JD Pardo as Nicks, Dayo Okenlyl as River, Jeff Fahey as Carl, Jackie Earle Haley as Jeremiah, Zane Holtz as Trout, Ruben Caballero as Watkins, Kelly Frye as Viv, Sandy Avila as Thelma and Ryan Ryusaka as Bong.
This was directed with grit and intensity by veteran Robert Rodriguez ("El Mariachi" '92, "Desperado" '95, "From Dusk Till Dawn" '95, "Spy Kids" '01, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" '03, "Sin City" '05, "Planet Terror" '07, "Machete" '10, "Red II" '18, "Alita: Battle Angel" '19, "We Can Be Heroes" '20) plus others, TV, shorts and music videos. One aspect I can respect about Rodriguez is that he is certainly willing to tackle a film that is outside of his comfort zone. He can direct something as gratuitously violent as "Sin City", and then direct a project that's family oriented such as "Spy Kids". This film is more like the fare that we have come to expect from Rodriguez, however, his ability to encourage his actors to dig deep within to bring those emotions to the surface to convey to the audience is amazing. This was also written well by Robert Rodriguez ("El Mariachi" '92, "Desperado" '95, "Spy Kids" '01, "Sin City" '05, "Planet Terror" '07, "Machete" '10, "Red II" '18, "We Can Be Heroes" '20) plus others, TV, shorts and music videos, and Max Borenstein ("Swordswallowers and Thin Men" '03, "Godzilla" '14, "Kong: Skull Island" '17, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" (story) '19, "Worth" '20, "Godzilla vs. Kong" '21) plus TV and a short. As with most other of Rodriguez's films, he typically has his hands involved in the writing. A good many filmmakers seem to be going that route today--of course, Rodriguez has been doing this for a while. The premise to this film is intriguing in that I love the originality of the plot, however there were a few areas in this that weren't more fully explained. Considering that the running time was as short as it was, I understand that some aspects just had to be left for assumption. For instance, there is an secret organization called 'Dominique' that is a pivotal entity that needed more explanation. But, considering even this, again, I loved the originality of the story and how it became a bit of a mind bender, with an interesting twist as the story progresses. Obviously Rodriguez had the lion's share of the writing here, however Borenstein certainly had pivotal imput what with his background that was clearly original to that of Rodriguez's experience. It's a also good role for Affleck and Fichtner as the villain.
If these type of films are of interest, then it will sure to please, but even if not, the twist that begins as the story unfolds undoubtedly keeps your attention and makes the ardent filmgoer wondering if these characters are ever going to survive this gig government organization.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: R 93mins.
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