There were moments early on in this when a score of 8 or more seemed possible -- unbelievably high, considering the box-office dross churned out nowadays.
But then, 'unbelievable' becomes the defining characteristic of the enterprise, and all the good work that's put into writing, acting, and direction vanishes into another of those swirling cloud-holes that seem to litter American skies.
Nonsensical narrative can, of course, always be forgiven when it's in the service of something greater, and 'The Forgotten' certainly has Grade A nonsense as its underlying premise -- the notion that aliens should wish to spend time and resource figuring out what is it that bonds parents to children and vice versa, a preoccupation about as arcane as it's possible to get considering that aliens very likely have other priorities to think about, like survival, world domination, world extinction, the rising price of gas etc.
Unfortunately for 'The Forgotten', however, there isn't anything else. Aliens as anthropologists is the theme, and once that's apparent then everything that follows is absurd (not least the fact that if, as an alien, you already 'control' the US Government and its security service to so great an extent, how come you don't 'control', or even harness, the talents of Earthbound scientists and anthropologists to do the field-work for you???) But no. Aliens kidnap kids in hugely and unnecessarily complex scenarios then spend an inordinate amount of time trying to cover up their actions. Yeah. Sure.
Yet 'The Forgotten' can't be forgotten so quickly: the lead performances are exceptionally good, the writing crisp and the direction sharp, fresh, and capable of well-nigh Hitchcockian surprises. What a pity then that inventiveness so quickly evaporates, and what could and should have been a superior sci-fi offering ultimately shows itself to be too intellectually lazy to face up to the challenges of its own narrative.
But then, 'unbelievable' becomes the defining characteristic of the enterprise, and all the good work that's put into writing, acting, and direction vanishes into another of those swirling cloud-holes that seem to litter American skies.
Nonsensical narrative can, of course, always be forgiven when it's in the service of something greater, and 'The Forgotten' certainly has Grade A nonsense as its underlying premise -- the notion that aliens should wish to spend time and resource figuring out what is it that bonds parents to children and vice versa, a preoccupation about as arcane as it's possible to get considering that aliens very likely have other priorities to think about, like survival, world domination, world extinction, the rising price of gas etc.
Unfortunately for 'The Forgotten', however, there isn't anything else. Aliens as anthropologists is the theme, and once that's apparent then everything that follows is absurd (not least the fact that if, as an alien, you already 'control' the US Government and its security service to so great an extent, how come you don't 'control', or even harness, the talents of Earthbound scientists and anthropologists to do the field-work for you???) But no. Aliens kidnap kids in hugely and unnecessarily complex scenarios then spend an inordinate amount of time trying to cover up their actions. Yeah. Sure.
Yet 'The Forgotten' can't be forgotten so quickly: the lead performances are exceptionally good, the writing crisp and the direction sharp, fresh, and capable of well-nigh Hitchcockian surprises. What a pity then that inventiveness so quickly evaporates, and what could and should have been a superior sci-fi offering ultimately shows itself to be too intellectually lazy to face up to the challenges of its own narrative.