Predestination

To Save the Future, He Must Protect His Past

Have you ever heard the question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I'm sure most of you have. It's an interesting question, and if you think about it too long, it has the potential to become extremely confusing. It is the quintessential paradox; one can not exist without the other having come first, yet here they both are.

The storyline in Predestination is very much the same way. In it, Ethan Hawke (Sinister, The Purge) plays a man known only as 'The Barkeep' (at least according to IMDB anyway, his name isn't revealed until late in the movie). His bar tending job is a cover though. His real job is a Temporal Agent, a special agent who travels through time to prevent major crimes before they happen.

Throughout his travels and missions, he has saved countless lives and prevented many alternate universes (think Back to the Future 2) from happening. But for all that, there is one criminal who has always eluded him: The Fizzle Bomber (seriously the worst villain name ever). The movie follows Hawke as he attempts to take down this guy as his final mission. Now, if you were paying attention, I referenced that egg and chicken question earlier. While explaining how that question is so much like the movie, I would actually give away the whole story, so I will let you draw your own conclusions about the question/plot relationship.

The Barkeep in one of his more serious moments.

The story itself was good. It's filled with plot twists and surprises, though some of these are kinda obvious. If you have a good eye for detail, you will appreciate the detail of events that unfold throughout the movie and with the Barkeep's story. Just try not to think too hard about things, or you may get yourself confused.

This attention to detail means that the rewatchability of the film is high as well. You definitely would want to watch it at least twice, once to enjoy the story, and once to get wrapped up in all the plot details and twists. I can just about guarantee that if you were to watch it multiple times, you would find something new every time you watched it, and that's saying something.

As far as the characters go, the writers did a good job at making them believable. They are funny, witty and at the right times serious as well. To be completely honest, if I were to sit down with any of the characters in the movie, I would have no issues believing they were real people.

Predestination ─ near perfection

Overall, I loved the movie. The fact that it was a limited release just made it all the more interesting. My one gripe (though if you know anything about time travel, it's no big deal) is that the paradoxes cause some confusion, hence the ½ star deduction. It's definitely worth the watch, and if you can find it in your area in a theater, I would highly recommend seeing it there.

Oh, and for those of you out there who weren't aware, Predestination is based on the short story "─All You Zombies─" written by Robert Heinlein.

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