Phenomenon (1996)

Bland and derivative. Rehash of dated story line of poor man gets god like powers. There's a 1920's film from Europe practically the same story. This version is over the top pseudo religious crap. The sound of one had clapping type of nonsense that is meant to sound profound.Just go watch toy story it has a deeper moral message.

The protagonist, the average guy from the average place, had been affected by supernatural phenomena with an unknown origin.Physically, George (John Travolta) was staying absolutely the same, but the "phenomena" affected him internally and changed the world around him.The plot revealed such paranormal things as psychokinesis, super- fast learning, enormous operational power, fatigue-free, upgraded vision with understanding of things in depth, synergy with nature, etc.What I enjoyed the most: The story reveals that ALL THINGS have ENERGETIC origin and belong to the law of ENERGY. As such, everything could be observed, analysed, changed, etc. on the ENERGY level (widely used in the Ayurvedic medicine, PRANA-healing methodology; unfortunately unknown by most of the Western-world).The movie's watcher sees an amazing partnership of the protagonist with all things around.At the end of the movie, you will ask yourself if you would prefer to live a long but ordinary life or rather to enjoy the "phenomena" and have a very saturated but shorter existence as the protagonist did.Excellent movie!

Here's a good idea for a movie--I'm going to hire an actor who is a has been from dance movies from the seventies and eighties, who is known to be one of the worst actors in the modern era. Pair him with an actress who is a two dimensional actress with no ability whatsoever. Then I will make a movie that has enough material to fill a short and find a way to stretch it over a full feature film. Oh, wait, Phenomenon already did that. There is nothing in this movie worth watching. Travolta's character has this sense about things, he and Sedwick talk a lot, then you wake up on your couch a few hours later and realize the movie is over.

John Travolta's "Phenomenon" from 1996 is similar to "Powder", which came out some eight months earlier. Both films are about a gifted individual with unusual powers and the reactions of those around him. "Phenomenon" differs from "Powder" in that it's about a regular guy (Travolta) who suddenly gains amazing abilities, rather than an outcast who already has them.The other characters include a woman whom he wants to date (Kyra Sedgwick), his best friend (Forest Whitaker), his doctor (Robert Duvall), a marveling professor and miscellaneous townsfolk & government agents. The story takes place in a small town in Northern California (shot in Auburn, CA).This is an interesting "What if?" story. What would happen if an average Joe suddenly attained genius and telekinesis? The film explores the untapped power of the mind and spirit. What great things would we be able to do if we were able to tap into this vast reservoir of potential! The ordinary person might likely respond with skepticism, but the story is based on numerous real-life examples, albeit perhaps not as pronounced as Travolta's character.I've had my own run-ins with such things. For instance, about five years ago I was in bed having an intense dream when my wife burst into the room to wake me up. The smoke alarm outside the door was blaring like crazy, but there was no smoke or fire (or heat). The intense energy evoked by my dream obviously set it off because, as soon as I woke, it suddenly stopped. If there was any doubt, the same thing happened the next week. What can explain this except the untapped power of the mind and focused energy? Another example comes to mind, albeit different: when I was around 8 years old my family and I were walking the trails of Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis when we came to the edge of a baseball field. As soon as we entered the outfield somehow I just knew that the current batter was going to hit the ball and it was going to hit me right in the face. I knew this but I didn't know how I knew it. I just knew. Next thing you know the batter hits the ball high into the air -- it was like slow motion -- and it came and hit me right on the cheek! (Good thing it was a softball, huh?). How did I KNOW this was going to happen? I don't know, but it's pretty amazing and it shows the power of the mind and spirit to warn us, which some call intuition.It goes without saying that "Phenomenon" is worthwhile just for effectively exploring such amazing things and provoking thought.Travolta's character is somewhat of a type of Christ in the story, which makes the ending a bit unsatisfying. I don't want to say too much (no spoilers), but the question arises: If he possesses the genius and power to do all that he does in the film, why couldn't he use these powers to deal with a certain situation at the end? To me, the writers and filmmakers took the easy way out by giving us a "realistic" ending. In short, they played it safe.Still, this is a good movie if you like dramas and the subject matter piques your interest.The film runs 123 minutes.GRADE: B