Reminiscence is a film that I’ve felt like I’ve seen before (not a pun), but beyond the familiarity, despite a respectable cast, all of whom seemed to give it their all, the core relationship between Jackman and Ferguson never gelled.
Reminiscence
(2021)
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Mystery
Warner Bros.| PG13 – 116 min. – $34.98 | November 9, 2021
Date Published: 11/08/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Studios Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2¾/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Nick Bannister (HUGH JACKMAN), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed as he uncovers a violent conspiracy while trying to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of a woman, Mae (REBECCA FERGUSON), whom he had fallen in love with but has a dark past.
Quick Hit Review: Reminiscence is a grounded sci-fi mystery thriller that had an interesting concept perhaps, some decent visual effects (albeit sometimes a bit video game-like for the cityscape) and committed performances from the core cast of Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson and Thandiwe Newton. However, the execution didn’t quite worked for me and I never fully bought into the relationship between Jackman’s Bannister and Ferguson’s Mae. I will say I never was terribly bored and there are some interesting moments just as a whole never came together. The film was the feature writing and directing debut of Lisa Joy who previously (and guess currently) has worked on Westworld alongside her husband, Jonathan Nolan (who serves as an executive producer here). Unlike another director who made his debut under a Nolan, Wally Pfister, I’d say Joy had a good enough eye and there were some okay action scenes and good visuals thanks to her cinematographer, Paul Cameron who worked on Man on Fire, Collateral, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesand 21 Bridges amongst others, in addition to De Ja Vu which Reminiscence did remind me of at times…
In the end, Reminiscence isn’t a bad film, but lacked very much of an emotional gut-punch though I guess if you can really get into this, you might take something away, but for myself I was a bit disappointed given the cast. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2½/5 |
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This release comes with a slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. You’re Going on a Journey (4:07) — Short featurette with some interviews by the cast including Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Fergsuson and Thandiwe Newton, plus writer/director Lisa Joy, and some behind-the-scenes footage. The Sunken Coast (7:05) shows the process of bringing the futuristic Miami which is partially underwater, to life. Crafting a Memory (8:24) — Featurette looks at putting memory to the film form. Reminiscence Family Reunion (8:14) — This is a featurette where members of The Westworld come together to work on the film. Includes more interviews by Lisa Joy, Executive Producer Jonathan Nolan, actors Hugh Jackman, Thandiwe Newton and others. Music Video (4:41) — “Save My Love” |
VIDEO – 4½/5 |
| Warner Bros. releases Reminiscence onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio, presumably how it originally was shown in theaters and on HBO Max. The 1080p high-definition transfer looks unsurprisingly good with sharp detail and well balanced colors, albeit leaning more towards some darker tones given the subject matter and gritty, water-logged future. There were no apparent signs of aliasing or artifacting so as a whole, is a clean transfer. |
AUDIO – 4¾/5 |
| The disc comes with a Dolby Atmos track which is amazingly strong throughout. Dialogue comes across with good clarity and there is quite a bit of depth with the LFE channel kicking on for that extra boost, be it for the few suspense-filled scenes or Ramin Djawadi’s great score, perhaps the best part of the movie to be honest. |
OVERALL – 3/5 |
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Reminiscence is a film that I’ve felt like I’ve seen before (not a pun), but beyond the familiarity, despite a respectable cast, all of whom seemed to give it their all, the core relationship between Jackman and Ferguson never gelled, maybe due it being unfolded in fragments. I would say this might be worth renting but keep expectations, if any, in check. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.