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Hypnotic sees cop Detective Danny Rourke’s (Ben Affleck – Air) daughter kidnapped four years earlier, and he’s still having having therapy sessions to discuss it all.
At this point, I will state that one of the production companies on this was Zero Entertainment… it’s not that bad.
Afterwards, he spots a bank heist going down, which will lead to the first of many scenes in which he holds his gun in the same way that all movie cops do, before spotting weirdo Dellrayne (William Fichtner – Elysium) sitting down next to a random woman, and doing some sort of bizarre Jedi mind trick, making her feel like she’s burning up and needs to cool down.
But before long, the man disappears (cue Twilight Zone-type music…)
The premise of the film is that for those people, like Dellrayne, they are ‘Hypnotics’, and can reshape the mind’s reality, and make you see a different version of the world. Yes, it’s complete nutty nonsense, and is just like a Jedi mind trick.
Overall, Hypnotic is twisty-turny, and the plot is stupid. Basically, it’s Inception-lite. It’s a reasonable enough 90 minutes of your time, but even then, it’s so short, it does make you wonder why they bothered. Alice Braga (The New Mutants, as well as Elysium with Fichtner) looks hot, though, and when it comes to Mr Fitchner, who I remember best from both Contact and Prison Break, he could read the contents of the phone book for 90 minutes, and it would be entertaining.
Then again, he’s clearly born to play the lead in a Barry Manilow biopic!
I didn’t realise that Jeff Fahey‘s character, Carl, was played by Jeff Fahey (The Lawnmower Man), until the end credits came up. Good to see him, though.
Plus, a question about something during the film which is a potential spoiler, so I’ll post it behind a spoiler header
There’s also a mid-credits sequence:
Hypnotic is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on DVD, with the release date and other formats to be confirmed.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 93 minutes
Release date: May 26th 2023
Studio: Warner Bros
Format: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic Panavision, X-OCN XT 4K)
Cinema: Cineworld Didsbury
Rating: 5/10
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Producers: Guy Botham, Lisa Ellzey, Mark Gill, John Graham, Jeff Robinov, Racer Max, Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay: Robert Rodriguez, Max Borenstei
Music: Rebel Rodriguez
Cast:
Danny Rourke: Ben Affleck
Diana Cruz: Alice Braga
Nicks: JD Pardo
River: Dayo Okeniyi
Carl: Jeff Fahey
Jeremiah: Jackie Earle Haley
Dellrayne: William Fichtner
Trout: Zane Holtz
Watkins: Ruben Caballero
Viv: Kelly Frye
Thelma: Sandy Avila
Bong: Ryan Ryusaki
Minnie (10 yo): Hala Finley
Minnie (7 yo): Ionie Nieves
Maria: Corina Calderon
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.