Predestination

Robert Heinlein’s classic short story ‘All You Zombies’ gets the big screen treatment as the basis for the Science Fiction time travel thriller ‘Predestination’, a notably imaginative film noir that craftily elevates the genre into an alluring confection. Australian cinematic siblings the Spierig Brothers (as in Michael and Peter) dutifully direct and adapt Heinlein’s Science Fiction material into a twisty tale of search and suspense. It was reported that Heinlein wrote his intriguing narrative …

John Chard

May 14, 2016

8/10

The one thing that this job has taught me is that truth is stranger than fiction. Out of Australia, Predestination is directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig (who also scores the music). The Spierig's also adapt the screenplay from Robert A. Heinlein's story "All You Zombies". It stars Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor, Christopher Kirby and Madeleine West. Ben Nott is the cinematographer. If we throw up a simple synopsis for this pic, it's about a time travelling agent who goes…

**Rare excellent story - you cannot predict whatsoever** When's the last time you saw a film and could not even come close to predicting the ending. When's the last time after you saw a film you had to call up your best friends and tell them they have to see this. When's the last time you had a guest over and asked if they wanted to see a seriously twisted film - you couldn't resist that a near stranger would miss the chance to see this. If you're in the mood for a mind luck (ie. if …

Gimly

October 27, 2017

7/10

Never forget that time travel is real. _Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time._

This is a film based on the short story by Robert A Heinlein called All You Zombies. It's a fantastic film with a portrayal of paradoxes and the extent to which they can become convoluted if Time Travel was possible. And when I say Time Travel, I mean with the ability to interfere with the past and future, and not just witness. It's a tough movie to get your head around so be prepared to go back and watch it again. The cast is fantastic. _Ethan Hawke_ delivers as always. But we need to talk abou…

The Movie Diorama

January 17, 2020

7/10

Predestination foreordained its paradoxical nature and exploited it with individuality. “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?”. An evolutionary question, now the setup for many punchlines, that has transcended time itself. The causality dilemma that considers both cause and effect. Infinite regression. Unsolvable. What really shapes a person’s biological anatomy or their metaphorical soul? Evolutionary diversity at birth or the nurturing of our surrounding environment? The aforementioned ph…

Rob

July 2, 2023

9/10

This movie is quite beautiful to look at, especially the opening sequence, with a very noir aesthetic which really grabbed my attention. The huge exposition dump in the bar early on utterly kills the pace the beginning sets you up to expect. But by the end of the movie, it's obvious that couldn't be avoided. A bit of a mind-bender, and although a little predictable very imaginative and absorbing.

CinemaSerf

January 27, 2025

7/10

It all starts with a mysterious character setting what looks like a timer, only for something quite unexpected to happen and for that perpetrator to disappear. What's going on? Well, we meet the "Barkeep" (Ethan Hawke) who is the ultimate in crime prevention agents. He uses the temporal vortex to travel back and forth through time trying to identify those who commit heinous crimes and either talk them out of it, or just plan thwart their plans. He's been doing this for quite a while thus far, bu…