HYPNOTIC

Ben Affleck plays Austin police detective Danny Rouke, a grieving father who's daughter went missing 4 years prior. He attempts to capture Lev Dellrayne (William Fichtner) a hypnotic who can influence people to carry out his wishes within seconds of making eye contact with them. A hypnotic differs from telepathy in that telepathy deals with individuals who can only control someones mind while hypnotics can control their mind and actions. This appears to be director Robert Rodriguez's attempt at a Christopher Nolan style INCEPTION, and although not exactly the same, the use of fake worlds and images gave me that feeling throughout. The film also gives off a minimum wage or bare bones vibe although I'm sure with Affleck's salary alone that's not the case. A few RR easter eggs make their way on screen (such as the name of the BBQ restaurant as well as frequent Rodriguez collaborator Jeff Fahey). Unfortunately, the film attempts to be smarter than it is and isn't executed well in its delivery. I wasn't invested much in the characters and as such, the payoffs in the third act didn't have the same effect on me I'm sure Rodriguez was hoping they would. I still like Rodriguez as a director and his work and I'll continue to see future projects until I'm proven wrong. This project was unfortunately a miss for him and everyone involved. 5.5/10