An Honest Review of Blink Twice (2024)
When it comes to films, how much responsibility do the filmmakers have in informing their audience of their content? Some believe that the studios are purposefully obscuring the content of their films to lure unsuspecting audiences to movies they wouldn’t usually see. Think, all those people angry at The Color Purple (2023) because they had no idea it was a musical. Or the fact that the marketing for Wicked (2024) so far has been working overtime to distance the movie from the Tony Award winning musical it is based on. Others think that trailers have been giving away too much information for years and think they should continue to pull back, complaints be damned. When you first sit down to watch Blink Twice (2024), you’re made to contend with this immediately as you are presented with a trigger warning for sexual assault mere seconds before the film properly begins. While I do believe (in hindsight) the warning was absolutely necessary, the afterthought nature of the warning was an ironically apt sign of things to come.
To start, this is a really beautiful film. We are in a cinematography renaissance and this film is another example of the splendor we’ve been able to witness. Every single shot is carefully thought out and so much is communicated through scenes with absolutely no dialogue. Everything was just so vivid, I have to commend the team. The dinner scenes were especially beautiful to look at. I also really appreciate the movement in this film. The choreographers did a fantastic job. Lastly for blind praise, the music in this film is really top tier. Especially the Beyoncé needle drop. I’m really a sucker for that album and I was happy to see it used in other forms of media.
Ultimately I am completely split on the story itself. On one hand, I think a fictional exploration of an abusive, predatory billionaire and his horror-filled private island à la Jeffrey Epstein was much needed. There’s too much mystery left sitting there that we will likely never know the truth of and I believe it should be left to creatives to fill in the gaps. The story felt real in that regard and therefore more terrifying. Ultimately, I wish they would’ve relied a little more on the strength of the premise as opposed to crafting quick twists that, in my opinion, undermined the film. It’s really the M. Night effect. No matter how hard he’s cooking, he has to throw in a twist to mess the entire stew up. While the twists here didn’t completely derail this film, they did spoil some of the experience for me. I also was not a huge fan of the ending and it inspired a dissatisfied held tilt so severe I had residual neck pain the next day.
I also felt similarly mixed regarding the performances, specifically that of Channing Tatum’s. He is a great actor and has been for decades at this point. He has a distinct charm that pulls you in even if you aren’t physically attracted to him. As a suave and sexy billionaire that you may run away to an island with, he is amazing. However when you reach the island and his presence is supposed to get more and more sinister, he falters quite a bit. His specific style is just not suited for this kind of menace and I realized that I wasn’t scared of him in the times that I needed to be (save for a specific chase scene). It wouldn’t be as noticeable if this cast wasn’t absolutely stacked.
Ultimately this film is hampered by what is emphasized and what is treated as an afterthought. While naturally some things have to be left on the cutting-room floor, you expect those things to be small and insignificant to the film. For this film in particular it was the exact opposite. From the rushing to the island to the twists where more plot should be, the choices made turned a great film to a solid film with great aspects. (6/10)
Film reviews are back (I have more time to see things now that the summer is winding down) and I’m ready to be basically horizontal at your local AMC.