Movies: Predestination

I won't be able to say much because I don't want to give anything away. I will say this was a great movie.

Ethan Hawke plays a time-traveling government agent whose mission is to stop a bomber. Known as the "Fizzle Bomber," this unidentified person's attacks in New York City have been getting increasingly deadly. Because he works for a time-travel agency, Hawke's character (known as "The Barkeep" because of his cover as a bartender) knows that the biggest bomb will go off in March 1975, leveling ten blocks of the city and killing over 10,000 people.

But if you're looking for a race-against-time action story, this isn't it. This is a drama, a weird mix of Looper and Interstellar in its sensibilities. Rather than mindless entertainment, it's a movie that does require thought.

Writer/director brother team Michael and Peter Spierig adapted the script from Robert A. Heinlein's story "All You Zombies." I haven't read it, so I can't compare, but although there were a couple of moments when I wanted to say, "Wait a minute . . ." in terms of the time traveling, the story is solid enough that I was able to let it go and believe. And while one scene at the end feels like overkill, as if they weren't sure the viewers had "got it" yet so they needed to drive it home, overall it was nicely and subtly handled.

More than that I can't say without giving anything away. Hawke is great, but he's shown up a bit by his co-star Sarah Snook who demonstrates remarkable range. I definitely recommend this one.