Midnight Special

And I can say with some certainty that Jeff Nichols has a heck of a career ahead of him.

To be frank, after your first 1000 or so IMDb reviews, you get a bit cynical. You start to understand that, in spite of the hype, movies are not as good as they used to be -- more like production-line white-bread, all mapped out and pre-sold into the appropriate distribution channels before the first viewer ever even gets a look -- and that in the same time period, TV has come to surpass film in terms of quality and entertainment value.

And then every now and then you get a film like Midnight Special and for a brief moment you start to think this medium might someday recapture its glory days.

I am not going to tell the story or do anything which will diminish your experience, should you choose to see this film.

I will simply say that, if you believe the primary goal of a movie is to hold your interest and entertain, this one does the job from the first frame to the closing credits.

Boy is that refreshing!

The actors -- not name actors -- were excellent.

The special effects were mind-boggling, especially for an indie.

The script breaks (or bends) some rules of conventional narrative but otherwise is so tight you could use it for a drum solo.

Highly recommended.

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

This movie has many strong facets:

• Good performances from all the actors
• Beautifully shot
• Decent pace
• Interesting them/plot
• Brilliant soundtrack

The movie is set up well in the first 1/3. It keeps it hanging at 2/3. It convinces you that a profound message / reveal is imminent.

But then the final 3/3 fails to achieve that in the way that 'Arrival' or 'Signs' did. I know those are great movies and it's unfair to make a comparison. But when such an emphasis is placed on a reveal, you better think of something good. And it's in this area that the writers are guilty of laziness and/or lack of imagination.

Would give it a 6.5 if I could.

This film really came out of nowhere for me, as a comment by a stranger I overheard in a bar drew me to this, and thank you nameless stranger with impeccable taste! This is one of those sci-fi flicks that comes along every once in a while that actually has something to say without overuse of CGI and genre tropes.

I knew almost nothing about Midnight Special going in other than said comment, and I highly recommend you try to do the same. Therefore I will be as brief as possible to avoid spoilers.

Roy (Michael Shannon) is on the run with his 8 year old son Alden (Jaeden Lieberher) from a religious cult that worships the boy as some sort of messiah. Also in pursuit are the FBI and NSA, who are investigating several strange phenomena connected with the child. Roy enlists childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) to help them get to a specific location on a specific date, the reasons for which are unclear but may involve some sort of otherworldly or cataclysmic event.

The comparisons with Starman (1984) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are apt, but this is very definitely a different movie altogether.

The actors are uniformly excellent, especially Michael Shannon, who gives another intense and believable performance as a man who would do anything for his son.

A bit has been made out of how the movie ends, but personally I found it a powerful emotional pay-off that I could feel in my chest, possibly due to the nostalgic feeling this film evokes.

In conclusion, go see it. A thought provoking sci-fi drama with a story to tell. A good one at that.

I really enjoyed most of the movie thanks to the mystery factor, the actors who all play well - may it be the main or the supporting roles or the almost flawless production.

But there's so much build-up for something minor. Potential is definitely there, but disappointing in total.

A beautiful, touching story. Nice performances. Fascinating subject. And a seductive theory, Enough for a real good film about parenthood and special child, interest of secret services fabulous truth and happiness. A film for a real precise target.