Premonition (PG-13) ★

Here’s a Premonition for you: This ill-conceived thriller isn’t going to do anything for Sandra Bullock’s career.

Story

Premonition’s premise is so implausible, it’s really hard to get emotionally involved in the film—although this is something it desperately wants you to do. Instead, you spend most of your time just trying to figure out why this woman, Linda Hanson (Bullock), is running around like a crazy person, waking up one day to find her husband, Jim (Julian McMahon), is dead and then the next, that he’s still alive. It’s exhausting, frankly. On Thursday, she’s told Jim has died in a horrible car accident the day before. Then she wakes up and it’s Tuesday, finding Jim is still alive and well—and possibly having an affair with a co-worker. Then she wakes up on Saturday and it’s the day of the funeral. WTF? Of course, in volleying back and forth through this week from hell, Linda is forced to look at her tired marriage and somehow preserve everything that she and Jim have built together before it’s too late. Oh, it’s too late, all right. Too late to care what happens.

Acting

Bullock is a fine actress when she tries her hand at something more serious, such as Infamous or Crash—heck, we’ll even throw in 28 Days. Of course, we prefer her to be the cute and fun Miss Congeniality of the big screen, but we understand her need to stretch a bit. However, this thriller stuff really isn’t her forte (remember Murder By Numbers?), especially when she looks about as confused as we are on why she’s even in this movie. And what’s with her compulsion to star in movies about time jumping? Her last movie Lake House, although considered a middling hit, has the same elements albeit in a far more romantic milieu. Whatever the reason, Premonition fails to tap into any of Bullock’s more innate qualities, leaving her floundering like a boat lost at sea. And everyone else in the movie acts as mere window dressing, including Nip/Tuck’s McMahon as the faltering and ultimately doomed hubby. Just a big waste of talent.

Direction

Oh man, I really would have liked to sit in on this pitch meeting with the studio execs. Screenwriter Bill Kelly, whose claim to fame up to this point has been the stellar Blast From the Past, must have walked in and said, “Do I have a mind bender for you!,” and proceeded to try to explain the mess that is Premonition. And oddly enough, those execs bought it. Still, it seems the studio may not have had a lot of faith in the movie, despite reigning in Ms. Bullock—they hired a no-name German director, Mennan Yapo, to take the helm. All this inexperience clearly shows in almost every frame of the movie. Muddled camera work, shoddy dialogue, lingering and unnecessary moments of Linda lying in bed in various positions, nothing about Premonition makes sense. Not even the title, since Linda really isn’t experiencing a premonition but more a trip through the space-time continuum. Now, if this were an episode of Star Trek...

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 1 star.