Reminiscence Review: Hugh Jackman’s Sci-fi Noir Looks Stunning But Is A Watery Bore

​​​​​​​This Philip K Dick-esque sci-fi noir stars Hugh Jackman as a private eye (think Wolverine meets Sam Spade) obsessed with a missing nightclub singer (Rebecca Ferguson); to track her down, he uses a device that allows people to access lost memories. Along the way, he meets assorted unsavory characters (including a criminally underused Daniel Wu, as a flamboyant gangster) and gets implicated in a labyrinthine conspiracy (which turns out to be not that complicated). The directorial debut of Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy (who also wrote the script) sounds cool on paper but the result isn’t as compelling, which is sad given the cabal of talents behind and in front of the lens. While it boasts stunning production design (an almost submerged Miami) and nifty action sequences (an underwater tussle), it’s strangely not very memorable; it lingers on only to remind us of other like-minded movies such as Total Recall, Inception, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This should have made a deafening splash but instead, it lands splat in the water and sinks. (2.5/5 stars)

​​​​​​​Hongkong director Benny Chan’s swansong — released a year after his death from cancer — pits Donnie Yen’s principled super-cop and father-to-be (foreshadowing!) against Nicholas Tse’s ex-con and one-time colleague, now the ruthless leader of a gang of robbers (all former law enforcers who did time). Michael Mann’s Heat is clearly an influence — from the Yen/Tse dynamic to the blistering downtown shoot-out — as is Chan’s own New Police Story (Tse’s character is a call back to Daniel Wu’s trust-fund sociopath). The thriller is dreary and brutal but a Fast and Furious-moment where Yen rescues a child in peril provided some unintended levity. (3/5 stars)