Hugh Jackman’s new science fiction movie, “Reminiscence,” is a bizarro “Minority Report.”
While the 2002 film had Tom Cruise play a detective who …
Hugh Jackman’s new science fiction movie, “Reminiscence,” is a bizarro “Minority Report.” While the 2002 film had Tom Cruise play a detective who used a trio of psychics to predict crimes that were about to be committed in the future, Jackman’s character explores people’s memories to investigate a disappearance from the past. But while “Minority Report” was a very enjoyable movie, “Reminiscence” — in theaters on Friday and streaming on HBO Max — is a burdensome slog. This wannabe works oh so hard to be a contemporary detective noir, with its shadows, damsel in distress and brooding narration. But it never finds the suspense or sensuality of that genre. “Truth is — nothing is more addictive than the past,” Jackman’s character, Nick Bannister, says at the beginning. All the dialogue sounds like a cabbie reading aloud “Poor Richard’s Almanack. ” Nick, our gateway to the hippocampus, is a former interrogator who now operates a reminiscence machine that, for a price, allows a person to relive a cherished experience.
