Flatliners (2017)

Starring: Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons, Kiefer Sutherland
Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of medical students begin a dangerous game of flatlining- stopping their hearts for short periods of time- before reviving themselves. What starts as a game soon turns sinister.

Review:
Tim: To this day, I'm a big fan of the original Flatliners. It was a fun, dark thriller that also asked some of the big questions in life, mainly- "What happens after you die?" The movie featured a superb cast and was entertaining. I didn't think there was any reason to remake the film, but I was hoping perhaps someone learned lessons in the two decades plus since the original and could apply them to make this movie even better (that's mostly a joke because no one ever does that). While this film toys with some different ideas, it ultimately proves to be a far inferior sequel.

One aspect of the story I was interested in seeing updated was the medical and scientific understanding of the brain. With cognitive neuroscientists and our ability to map the human brain, we know substantially more about how the brain works now, verses 1990 when the first movie came out. The movie has a few moments where some of the latest research is applied, but then a huge part of the story involves unlocking buried memories and greatly increasing the intelligence of the flatliners. I suppose we can't completely rule out the possibility of this occurring, but there's absolutely no scientific evidence that stopping the heart and flatlining could ever result in what this film shows happening. Many people have flatlined after accidents and none reporting intellectual superpowers. I was horribly disappointed that this movie felt like scientific than its earlier counterpart. It was a major flaw with this film.

Some may believe it's not be fair to compare casts, but this movie is a remake, so I believe it's fair game. I like Ellen Page, but this cast can't hold a handle to the original. Now, Page is good in the lead role- it's been too long since I've seen her on the big screen. She works and I appreciated the gender reversal from the original film's lead character. Diego Luna gives a solid performance, but he could have used a better director. I didn't mind Nina Dobrev. James Norton and Kiersey Clemons were fine, but they were too forgettable. This cast is okay, but it's not even close to the original. So, now you're doing a remake with a worse cast. Not a recipe for success. I do need to mention that it's kind of cool to see Kiefer Sutherland here again. He plays a different character and he doesn't have a huge impact on the film, but it was a decent enough nod to the earlier movie.

I didn't find this film boring, but it wasn't nearly as compelling as the first one. This one flirts with the idea of supernatural involvement, but it ultimately explains things more rationally. I enjoyed the idea of each character suffering from past guilt, but it seems a little convenient that all of them would have one big past traumatic event that remained unresolved for them. It was fine, it was an interesting idea, but the execution could have been a bit stronger. I also appreciated a few unexpected turns in the story.

I didn't think Flatliners was a terrible movie, so I'm more kind than most critics. However, I have to be clear that I didn't enjoy the movie all that much and I still believe it had no business being made. By the end of the film, I didn't care much about the characters or what was happening, I was just ready for the movie to be over. The film wasn't long at 1 hour, 49 minutes, but even still, I ran out of steam by the end. This is quite simply not a good movie at all.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Flatliners (1990)