I’ve had a love/hate relationship with M. Evening Shyamalan through the years. Typically he delivers the products and surprises me with an important film! Then there are movies like Lure, the place he appears to overlook the mark totally, leaving me extra bewildered than entertained.
Lure was a disappointment. From the second the movie began, I could not shake the sensation that it was extra of a conceit mission than a real try at storytelling. The plot felt prefer it was cobbled collectively simply to offer Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka Shyamalan, an opportunity to shine on the massive display screen.
She performs the pop star character within the film, Woman Raven, which I didn’t count on would have such a major position within the story.
Now, let’s discuss in regards to the so-called twist—or lack thereof. For those who’re anticipating the standard Shyamalan twist that turns the complete film on its head, you are in for a letdown.
The large twist is that Saleka Shyamalan had a a lot greater half within the story than I believed she would. However, it would simply be that the massive reveal right here is that there isn’t one. Or maybe the twist is that Shyamalan determined to forgo his signature transfer altogether.
As a substitute, we get Josh Hartnett enjoying a loopy serial killer who leans into his being an excessively foolish dad with dangerous dad jokes. No surprising revelation, no mind-bending plot turns—only a easy story.
The story itself is painfully uninteresting, and the script doesn’t do a lot to raise it. There have been moments the place I discovered myself laughing, however not in the best way you wish to giggle throughout a thriller. The dialogue was clunky, the pacing was off, and the entire thing simply fell flat.
I do wish to give credit score the place it is due as Josh Hartnett actually tried to make it work. He put within the effort and did his greatest to encapsulate the character Shyamalan created for him. Hartnett’s portrayal of “The Butcher,” the daddy who took his daughter to the live performance solely to disclose himself as a maniacal serial killer, had moments of potential. However even his dedication couldn’t save the film from itself.
In the long run, Lure is well one of many worst movies I’ve seen this yr. I walked into the theater with a sliver of hope that Shyamalan would shock me once more, that possibly this may be a type of motion pictures the place he pulls the rug out from beneath us in the easiest way attainable.
However that didn’t occur. As a substitute, I used to be left with a movie that didn’t work on any degree, from the uninspired plot to the lackluster performances.
For those who’re a die-hard Shyamalan fan, you would possibly nonetheless discover one thing to understand right here. However for me, Lure was a misstep, a movie that attempted to be intelligent and thrilling however ended up being neither.
