John Travolta

Kyra Sedgwick

Forest Whitaker

Robert Duvall

Jeffrey DeMunn

Richard Kiley

David Gallagher

Ashley Buccille

Tony Genaro

Sean O'Bryan

Michael Milhoan

Troy Evans

Bruce A. Young

Vyto Ruginis

Brent Spiner

Elisabeth Nunziato

Ellen Geer

James Keane

Susan Merson

James Anthony Cotton

Justin DiPego

Mark Soper

Daniel Zacapa

Cab Covay

Tony A. Mattos

Mark Valim

Carl D. Parker

Beth Kennedy

Tom Fridley

Richard Gross

Jack Chouchanian

Michael Forner

Sage Callaway

Jewel Benedict

Betsy Berryhill

Mariann V. Carothers

Claudia Crespin

Joseph A. Nicosia

Dan Partain

Isaac Reiswig

Charlie

Jon Turteltaub

Gerald Di Pego

Phedon Papamichael

Bruce Green

Barbara Boyle

Michael Taylor

Charles Newirth

Jonathan D. Krane

George Bamber

Kathy Nelson

Jeff Cadiente

Chris Cornwell

Robert Gray

Debra James

David Blitstein

Rod M. Janusch

Liz Matthews

Bill Bernstein

Ken Ralston

Aileen Timmers

Martin A. Kline

Jody Rogers

Mageara Cameron

Anita Hart

Thomas Newman

Garreth Stover

Bruce Alan Miller

Jay Hart

Betsy Cox

Robin L. Miller

Ron Judkins

Robert J. Litt

Michael Herbick

Elliot Tyson

Mark Mangini

Robert Jackson

Julia Evershade

Howell Gibbens

Alicia Accardo

Geoffrey Hansen

Allegra Clegg

Fríða Aradóttir

Hallie D'Amore

Susan V. Kalinowski

Michelle Bühler

Gary Deaton

Zade Rosenthal

Ian Kincaid

Kimberly Guenther Durkin

Tzarina V. Edillon

Mark V. Phillips

David Rennie

Michele Juskowitz

Renee Rousselot

Jeena M. Phelps

Mark Riccardi

David Cadiente

Erik Stabenau

Matt Adler

Wally Pfister

Drama

Romance

Science Fiction

Fantasy

Phenomenon

Touchstone Pictures

United States of America

Filipe Manuel Neto

**A good film, spoiled by a horrible ending.**

When I decided to watch this film, I was quite curious about its story. In fact, the film has its interest and works almost until the end. It is precisely the ending that ruins the efforts made so far. It's not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last, that I've come across a film that would have had everything to work if the screenwriter and director had had the ability to end the story as happily as they started it.

Technically, the film doesn't present anything special. Cinematography, visual and sound effects, sets, costumes, filming locations, soundtrack... it's all reasonably well executed, but it doesn't present any surprises or quality notes worth mentioning. It's just another bland, meek and nothing special film. As for the cast, it is up to us to recognize everyone's collective effort and the good performance of most of the groups. John Travolta, who is an actor that I don't like very much, manages to give us a very friendly and committed performance, creating an appealing character, who easily captures our empathy and who has the necessary charisma to stand out and captivate the audience. Alongside him are two excellent actors, Robert Duvall and Forest Whitaker. Both stand out for their sympathy and manage to give us two secondary characters strong enough to give the film additional interest. Kyra Sedgwick is worse off, as she doesn't seem to have any value to the film other than being a love interest.

The script has excellent premises that, although not really original, manage to have the interest they need to support the film: a completely ordinary man who lives in rural America becomes a genius after suffering an inexplicable incident on the night of his birthday with a light coming from the sky. In addition to an extraordinary ability to think and reason that allows him to solve problems quickly, he begins to read uncontrollably, learn everything and improve things around him, in an absolutely visionary way. Everything indicates that he suffered some type of incident with aliens, and this hypothesis is used for a lot of discussion in the film. When we are approaching the end, the script completely derails and gives us the most anticlimactic ending we could imagine, which not only disrespects everything that has been done but does not explain even half of what happened to that man. Worse than this, just a hard kick to our heads.

English

Phenomenon 1996 Trailer | John Travolta | Kyra Sedgwick