Dragonfly (2002)
Directed by Tom Shadyac
A grieving doctor is being contacted by his late wife through his patient's near death experiences.
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The climatic 'miracle' ending, which finds Joe travelling to Venezuela, is staged like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" crossed with "The Ten Commandments" featuring a native Venezuelan Indian tribe who like their privacy.
The climatic 'miracle' ending, which finds Joe travelling to Venezuela, is staged like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" crossed with "The Ten Commandments" featuring a native Venezuelan Indian tribe who like their privacy.
"Dragonfly," starring Kevin Costner ("Thirteen Days"), and directed by Tom Shadyak ("Liar Liar") is a film bogged in quicksand until the final 20 minutes or so, when it finally gets interesting.
One of the film's bigger problems, however, is with lead actor Kevin Costner ("3000 Miles to Graceland," "Thirteen Days").
Although he has had his share of successes, e.g., Dances With Wolves, JFK, and Thirteen Days , he has also been responsible, or at least partly responsible, for the likes of Waterworld, The Postman , and For Love Of The Game .
Whether attempting to widen his range (playing a psychotic Elvis impersonator in "3,000 Miles to Graceland") or harking back to former glories (the " JFK "-style " Thirteen Days "), he can't seem to recapture the alchemy of " The Untouchables " and "Dances With Wolves".
The ending also has a surprise twist to it, like "The Sixth Sense."
I suppose we have "The Sixth Sense" to thank for "Dragonfly," a gooey thriller about whether the dead can still walk among us, or knock paperweights off tables, or speak to us through the mouths of bright-eyed, terminally ill children.
Aspiring to "The Sixth Sense" but ending up closer to " The Mothman Prophecies ", "Dragonfly" finds a distinctly flabby Kevin as a Chicago doctor traumatised when his pregnant wife is killed in a bus crash in the Venezuelan jungle.
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The script - courtesy of screenwriters David Seltzer ("My Giant," "Shining Through") and Brandon Camp & Mike Thompson (making their collective debut) - also manages to include some decent bits of humor that serve as comic relief.
Helmer Tom Shadyac made his mark with goofy comedies such as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and "The Nutty Professor," so I was curious with what he could do if he went the drama route (he also directed "Patch Adams," but that flick was saccharine junk, not drama).
Despite that receiving even odds from cinematic bookies, the scene is still rather effective, and director Tom Shadyac ("Patch Adams," "Liar Liar") manages to deliver a handful of other such spooky moments.
Director Tom Shadyac (he of the dreadful 1998 tearjerker "Patch Adams") once again uses dying children to add cheap poignancy to his story.