2:22, movie (2017) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
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video © Lightstream Pictures & Screen Australia & Screen NSW
The 2:22 (2017) is a romantic contemporary fantasy film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: 2:22, movie (2017)
Original title: 2:22
Series: -
Setting: fantasy Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: romantic contemporary fantasy, Style: romantic, fantasy, reincarnation
Release: 2017.06.29
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2021.12), first time
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points)
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This is my review of 2:22, a romantic contemporary fantasy movie from 2017. It's about a man about to get in a romantic relationship, when he starts finding some strange connections between seemingly unrelated events. The 2:22 film has some interesting parts, but I only recommend it to dedicated fans of romance.
2:22, movie (2017)
image © Lightstream Pictures & Screen Australia & Screen NSW
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Review (spoiler-free) - 2:22, movie (2017)
After watching Infinite (2021), I've checked the works of the creators, and I've run into this movie. The premise looked interesting, so I gave it a chance, without watching the trailer.
The 2:22 movie is about a man about to get in a romantic relationship, when he starts finding some strange connections between seemingly unrelated events.
The concept of the story might be good, but the story itself falls apart. The pacing is consistent. There are no character arcs, the improvement to the protagonist just happens without preparation. There are no major logical problems if you accept the basis of the plot.
The cinematography is okay. It's as interesting visually as showing the streets of a street again and again can be.
The characters are well developed, we get to learn a lot of things about them. Their portrayal by the actors is fine.
The music (by Lisa Gerrard, James Orr) is good. It's probably the best part of the movie.
I'm not sure who the intended audience is. For fans of romance, the mystery plot is too convoluted. For fans of mystery, the romance is distracting. For fans of fantasy, it makes not much sense.
2:22 is a watchable romantic contemporary fantasy movie, but I think only fans of the romance genre would enjoy it.
My experience
I was slightly satisfied with 2:22 (2017), but I was not thrilled.
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points). 2:22 is a watchable film.
Enjoyment: Average (2 out of 3 points). 2:22 started interesting, but by the end I was bored.
Rewatchability: I'm not sure. I think it's mostly the surprise of the story that makes you feel interested.
Chance of watching it again: Nope.
Chance of watching a sequel: Unlikely. Unless I read very promising reviews about it.
2:22, movie (2017)
image © Lightstream Pictures & Screen Australia & Screen NSW
Will you enjoy this?
If you like mystery movies, you might like 2:22.
If you like romantic movies, you might be interested in the 2:22 film.
If you like horror or action thriller movies (Alien, Life, Splice), you might like the film, although there are not many action scenes or scary scenes in the 2:22 movie.
If you like criminal investigation stories, you might like 2:22.
If you don't mind illogical elements in your movies, you can enjoy this.
If you prefer visuals over story, you'll be bored by 2:22.
If you hate romantic movies, 2:22 is not for you.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in mystery stories, I think it might be worth watching the 2:22 movie for the plot points, but you're probably better off just reading the plot summary.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals might look better if you watch it in cinema, but I think you'll get a similar experience.
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2:22, movie (2017)
image © Lightstream Pictures & Screen Australia & Screen NSW
Review with spoilers - 2:22, movie (2017)
I didn't like the 2:22 movie.
At 1 hour, it started to be boring that we get the same things again and again and again.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer is okay. It's as confusing as the movie is, and makes the movie look more interesting than it actually is.
Promise of the first scene
There's probably a shoot-out at 14:22. I assume there will be some things happening at 14:22, and that will create the plot of the story.
Execution: Yeah, well, we got something like that.
Plot summary / Synopsis
At a train station (Grand Central Station), there's a guy with a gun at 14:22. He probably shoots someone.
In New York, a man (Michiel Huisman as Dylan Branson) wakes up from a dream. He goes to work to the airport as an air controller. His days go similarly. He wanted to be a pilot, but he is afraid of flying.
One day, at 14:22, he has a strange feeling, almost causing two planes to crash into each other. He's suspended for a month. He watches a news report about a supernova. It went off 30 years ago, but its light will reach the Earth now.
He notices that at 14:22 at the train station strange occurrences happen - glasses shatter, there's electric discharge, lights bulbs burst, a chandelier falls off.
He meets a woman (Teresa Palmer as Sarah), and they start to date. She tells him that she happened to be on one of the planes that almost crashed. They were also born on the same day.
He notices that at the same time, there's a car accident below his window every day. At 14:22 he himself gets into a car accident near the train station. He realises that he sees the same people around the station at that time.
He starts a log, and sees that every day the same things happen to him, no matter the circumstances.
He goes to a museum exhibition opening, created by an artist (Sam Reid as Jonas), that's the ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend. The hologram show that happens to depict the same people at the same time he sees them at the train station. He assumes that it's some sick joke on him, so he attacks the artist. One patron tells them that the exhibition really catches the moment right before they died in the shoot-out.
At his home, he accidentally find letters and a passport, belonging to an unknown man. He later searches for that train station shoot-out, and finds out that the killer was that exact unknown man. The woman whom he killed was born on the same day, as the killer. Also, on the same day the man and the woman, but 30 years earlier. He visits the sister of the killed woman, who wears the same pendant as her own girlfriend.
He goes to the train station, and wants to buy a ticket to the station those name he always keeps hearing, when he is there, but the clerk informs him that there's no train there. He watches the timetable more closely, and the letters change.
His girlfriend visits him at home. He tells her that the killer and the killed woman died on the same day they two were born, and he suspects that they are the reincarnation of that pair. He is afraid that he'll kill his girlfriend if they stay together, so they have to end their relationship.
In a sudden vision, he somehow connects the supernova and the murder, that happened 30 years ago, to his own life.
Following the occurrences (laughing, banging, ringing), he reaches the home of the artist, so he breaks in. He finds it out that the artist was obsessed with the killed woman. He gave his girlfriend the same pendant because of this. He also finds the empty box of a gun. He suspects that the artist wants to kill his girlfriend.
By this time, the artist and his ex-girlfriend is about to go to the place where the dead pair wanted to go. The man reaches the station, so the artist draws his gun. The man jump in front of the girlfriend, so he takes the shot. The police shoots the artist.
We see them later living together, with a baby. The guy decides to be a pilot.
The setting
The film is set in a contemporary Earth, that's being affected by the magical powers of a supernova.
Also, this world has high-tech holographic technology, able to create large 3D projections.
2:22, movie (2017)
image © Lightstream Pictures & Screen Australia & Screen NSW
The mystery
There's a man, Jake Redmond, and a woman, Evelyn Mills born on 1956.04.18. They fell in love. A policeman, Noah Marks (probably also born on the same date?), also fell in love with her.
Noah got angry at their happiness, and killed the pregnant Evelyn and Jake at a train station at 1986.04.18, 14:22, but he was shot by the police. Right at the time of the shooting, a sun went supernova.
The souls of these three people got into new bodies. Jake gets into Dylan, Evelyn into Sarah, Noah gets into Jonas, all born on 1986.04.18.
To make things look better for them, the police called Noah as someone who wanted to save Evelyn, and Jake as an aggressive gangster, who wanted to kill Evelyn and Noah in a fit of rage.
Jonas somehow got to learn about the murder, and got obsessed with Evelyn. He also felt attracted to Sarah, and they got together for a while. He made a necklace for Sarah similar to the one Evelyn had. Jonas and Sarah broke up.
Dylan also met Sarah, and they fell in love.
At the train station, at 14:22 every day, there are destructive occurrences: glasses shatter, there's electric discharge, lights bulbs burst, a chandelier falls off.
Jonas gets angry, and wants to kill Sarah (who might be pregnant?) at the same train station. Dylan gets in the way, and gets shot, while Jonas gets shot by the police.
And all of this was caused by the supernova, those light just reached the Earth from 30 years ago?
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one.
The structure of the story
The scenes of the 2:22 film are played in sequence, following the same storyline. There are some flashbacks to past events.
There is no single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.
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Things I liked
- The addition of the air ballet was a nice touch.
- The way Dylan found the home of Jonas was clever.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
From the works of the writer (Todd Stein), I've seen Infinite (2021), that was also about reincarnation and also messy.
From the other writer (Nathan Parker), I've seen Moon (2009), that was great, and Equals (2015), that was bad. 2:22 was also weak, so it's not very promising.
From the director (Paul Currie), this is the only film I've seen.
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2:22, movie (2017)
image © Lightstream Pictures & Screen Australia & Screen NSW
Analysis of the story - 2:22, movie (2017)
I mostly liked the concept of the story, and even though I didn't find logical problems, I didn't really enjoy 2:22.
Problematic elements
The whole story is nonsense for me.
Unanswered questions
What was this whole thing all about?
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Possibilities of improvement
How it could have been better?
I would have preferred the whole thing without the mystical elements and the supernova.
It could have been enough if Jonas was obsessed with Evelyn and the murders. He found it out that he was born on the day of the murder, and thought that he must have been Noah, the good guy. Then as he started to fell in love with Evelyn, he looked for a girl who was born on the same day when Evelyn died. He found Sarah, and they got together. After Sarah broke up with him, it also broke him, and when she gets together with Dylan, he comes to the realisation that he is actually the reincarnation of the killer, Jake (even though it was the other way around in reality). So, as part of a performance, he decides to recreate the whole thing again.
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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2:22, movie (2017)
image © Lightstream Pictures & Screen Australia & Screen NSW
Uses for the film - 2:22, movie (2017)
Plot
Scenes
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
- Baiting: There's an attacker who wants to do something. There's a defender who want to stop this. There is a neutral force (police, creatures, zombies, killer robots) in the area, controlled by the system, that would attack either side. Set attacker sets up the playing area, and defender places the objectives. Then the attacker deploys their forces on one edge of the playing area. The neutral force is also deployed by the attacker, on the opposite edge. The defenders can enter from any other edges. The neutral force will attack or move towards any units they see. The defender can use models to bait them to help them stop the attackers. The attacker wins if they complete their objective, with more than half of their units alive. The defender wins if they stop the attackers completing their objective, and they still have more than half of their force. It's a draw if the objective is completed, but more than half of the attackers are lost.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Civilians: Human-sized human civilians.
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Similar stories - 2:22, movie (2017)
Short stories
Novels
Graphic novels
Movies
TV series & episodes
Computer games
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Frequently asked questions - 2:22, movie (2017)
Is the 2:22 film based on a book or comics?
No, 2:22 is not based on either books or comics.
Is the 2:22 film a remake or reboot?
No, the 2:22 film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in 2:22? Does 2:22 have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in 2:22.
Where can I see 2:22? Where can I watch 2:22 online? Is 2:22 available on Netflix? Is 2:22 on Amazon?
As of 2021.12.15, 2:22 is on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft Store, YouTube.
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Resources - 2:22, movie (2017)
Official
2:22 the Film: Official website.
Information
IMDB: 2:22 (2017): Database article.
WikiPedia: 2:22 (2017 film): Database article.
Letterboxd: 2:22 2017: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: 2:22 2017: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - 2:22 film (2017)
: Review video about the 2:22 film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - 2:22 film (2017)
: Review article of the 2:22 movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - 2:22 movie (2017)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of 2:22.¤
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Buying the product - 2:22, movie (2017)
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Have you seen the 2:22 film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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