Travelling Light (K-Pax (DVD))

Member Name: gothiron

Product:	K-Pax (DVD)
Date:	25/04/02 (148 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Kevin Spacey is very pleasing on the eye, Potential for a good story, No way they can make a sequel

Disadvantages: Dodgy plot, Sloppy ending, Waste of talent

Every now and then, there comes a time when there are loads of films I want to see and there is nothing for it but to have a cinema-fest weekend and wonder just where the daylight went. This time it was three films in three days, the record is three films in one day (when Warner Brothers did the half price Tuesdays yonks ago). So, just to relive the memories, here is the first part of the trilogy. Gather round and listen to tales of far off places with mysterious names and portents aplenty. Or to revert to familiar text, the review of the load of cobblers that is K-Pax.

Maybe a late night viewing wasn't the ideal set up, maybe a hectic week of restructuring and reorganisations had taken it's toll, whatever it was, small chunks of this review are courtesy of the long suffering Mr Gothiron who was kind enough to nudge me when in danger of snoring.

You may have a sneaking suspicion that I didn't enjoy the film.

Brief overview without spoiling the plot (something which the film seemed to do all by itself). Loner in sunglasses arrives at station, shrouded in light which is only visible to down and out, tries to be good Samaritan and is bundled off to the psychiatric hospital on the grounds of not having any luggage with him. Blimey, I knew America was tough but honestly!

Further examination finds that Prot (Spacey) has exceptional vision (shame he wasn't directing it then) and knowledge of hitherto unknown universes. Strangely enough Planet Oscar won't be one he visits on the back of this stinker. Enter the good guy, workaholic psychiatrist Jeff Bridges who is determined to find the truth behind the stranger, being unwilling to accept that little green men are beaming around the universe.

The crux of the film is around whether he really is from another dimension or just your standard delusional weirdo. Thankfully the film doesn't try to tidy up all the loose ends, but leaves you to make
your own call about what is reality. The exception to this is the thing with fruit, just what does Prot's eternal chomping on all things Vitamin C packed have to do with it? Admittedly, anyone who has to eat a whole banana, skin and all probably does deserve some sort of award!

The plot seemed to borrow a bit from Unbreakable in terms of cinematography and from whatever "nameless stranger in hospital" film you prefer. You want it to be as good as the Usual Suspects; sadly it is just the usual plot.

The grand unveiling of the truth (It is out there you know) was a major cop out in my opinion, and seemed very mismatched in terms of direction & acting when compared to the scenes set within the hospital. It had a real feel of "how can we wrap this up quickly?". The obligatory flashbacks, the fevered & furrowed brows in front of a map of the States, there was nothing original and much was predictable.

My biggest gripe was the Disney style ending where everything is made all right in the end and A Valuable Lesson Is Learnt for those who are not of the K-Paxian persuasion. If the slushy ending had been chopped, the overall impact of the film would have been heightened. In this way it reminded me of AI, there was a very natural point where the film should have ended; each minute after that point just diminished what went before it.

Spacey is a brilliant actor, bulging with enthusiasm and passion and I can't help feeling that being asked to portray a character so devoid of emotion was a mistake. The lines were delivered in a slow monotone (I guess aliens don't have accents) that seemed to really slow things down, a useful directional trick to contrast with the theme of the film I suppose but I was beginning to wish I used my power of veto and seen something else instead. There was a dry, humorous element to the film, but just how funny is the line "I won't come bursting through your ch
est" when you are almost comatose with boredom?

A small cast meant that there should have been plenty of opportunity for character development but this was kept to a minimum. The minor supporting roles were well acted and demanded your attention, albeit for small segments at a time and this was one of the more enjoyable aspects of the film for me.

I suppose this would have been badged as sci-fi, but it just doesn't cut it for me, it tries to be deep but remains superficial, it tries to be light but comes across as lacking in content and tries to be pulsating but just comes across as rushed.

Marks out of ten would have to be 6 from me, on the grounds that it wouldn't have been hard to make this a more dramatic film than it was if the directors could have worked out just what it was they were trying to create. One to watch as a rental, there isn't much to be gained by seeing it on the big screen as there are no special effects worth noting. Usually a film that goes light on the SFX has a cracker of a story, guess that's one other thing that isn?t true anymore either.

Anyone got a light?

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