Midnight Special (2016) User Reviews (342)

Good. But final third makes it fall short of being 'Very Good'.

[Gorillaboi · 7/10 · 11 June 2020]

This movie has many strong facets:

• Good performances from all the actors
• Beautifully shot
• Decent pace
• Interesting them/plot
• Brilliant soundtrack

The movie is set up well in the first 1/3. It keeps it hanging at 2/3. It convinces you that a profound message / reveal is imminent.

But then the final 3/3 fails to achieve that in the way that 'Arrival' or 'Signs' did. I know those are great movies and it's unfair to make a comparison. But when such an emphasis is placed on a reveal, you better think of something good. And it's in this area that the writers are guilty of laziness and/or lack of imagination.

Would give it a 6.5 if I could.

Started right...but didn't quite get there

[cliftonofun · 6/10 · 27 December 2017]

Nichols is a gifted filmmaker. Both "Take Shelter" and "Mud" were special movies, stories that allowed complex characters to be sucked into intense drama within real settings. And the first 2/3 of this movie felt like it was heading the same way, from the fundamentalist kickoff to the surreal twists. Unfortunately, it just did not stick the landing. Too many unanswered questions and too many cliche sci fi moments. I wanted more than just an homage to 80s Spielberg flicks, but the emotional payoff was lacking here.

Production, actors and some ideas are good, but the final spark is missing

[mardalsfossen01 · 6/10 · 6 January 2020]

I really enjoyed most of the movie thanks to the mystery factor, the actors who all play well - may it be the main or the supporting roles or the almost flawless production.

But there's so much build-up for something minor. Potential is definitely there, but disappointing in total.

Beautifully filmed movie

[gcarpiceci · 6/10 · 21 March 2016]

This is a beautifully filmed movie, with outstanding photography and good acting. The way the story is delivered is also very smart: the start creates quite a lot of intrigue and mystery as you don't really understand what is happening, and where the whole thing will go. Then the ending solves beautifully these tensions, it is quite an inspiring and even almost poetic finale, with very sleek shots of the extra world. So I enjoyed quite a lot this movie, though at the end I thought the story was a bit too light, I walked away with the feeling that there were quite a few questions left open and that I would have wanted to know more....like when you finish a dinner and you're still hungry....

Good but not special

[bartonj2410 · 6/10 · 5 April 2016]

Midnight Special is a modern day science fiction film with a very old school feel running through its veins. Jeff Nichols has made it no secret that classic sci-fi films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind are inspirations for his film however, I find the fact that his relationship with his own son was used as an inspiration too, much more intriguing.

Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) is an eight-year-old boy who possesses otherworldly powers. When his father, Roy (Michael Shannon), takes his son and flees from a religious cult, they must travel across the country to an undisclosed location on a specific date, during which a celestial and possibly world-changing event may occur.

Mystery is a strong point for Midnight Special, the entire mystery surrounding Alton's powers, what will happen on that specific date and the reason a religious cult want him back, all playing a part in making the story such a captivating one. Then comes the film's climactic moment. We get answers, but they end up ruining some of the mystery that made what came before so good. Less is more definitely sprung to mind as it all unfolded.

The story, written by Jeff Nichols, is a very good one and at the heart of that story is a rather beautiful relationship between a father and son. It adds another layer to the film rather than it just being a standard story about people on the run, and as mentioned earlier, it really feels like a personal film from Nichols. Not saying that his son has special powers though, so don't think that.

In a rather short directorial career, Nichols has made quite a name for himself and Midnight Special should further his reputation. It's a very well made film but if there was one thing that stopped it from being great, it was the pacing. Unfortunately, this film dragged itself out through a few scenes and it really bugged me.

I cannot fault the film for its performances mind. Michael Shannon possesses such a magnetic screen presence, you just can't take your eyes off him and Joel Edgerton certainly makes his presence felt, even if his role remains a little unexplained. Kirsten Dunst and Adam Driver offer good support and Jaeden Lieberher is rather good as Alton.

It may be that, in time, I appreciate Midnight Special more however, my initial experience warrants me to say that it's not the special film I was hoping for.

A slow-burning ideas-driven sci-fi that is refreshing, entertaining and pays great homage to the sci-fi's of the late 70's and 80's

[gricey_sandgrounder · 7/10 · 30 March 2016]

Since finding out who was involved, I was definitely excited to see the trailer. I may have only seen one of Jeff Nichols' previous work (Mud), but that was enough for me to the potential in where he could go next.

With a stellar cast also announced, this intriguing sci-fi showed me a trailer with a lot of potential.

Nichols has yet to do sci-fi. But I felt this was a genre that I feel he could succeed in. But maybe not in the mainstream fashion.

A striking opening definitely shows the look that Nichols is going for. We seem to have jumped right in the middle of the story and it is the job of the film-makers to give us subtle bits of info for us to catch-up with the history of why our characters have ended up at this point in time.

As the film goes on there are moments of surrealism that is never over-blown and does not de-tract from the pacing and tone. Whilst trying to work everything out, there was a particular scene about two-thirds of the way through that got me completely hooked. Then we get a pleasing conclusion for every character involved that also leaves some questions opened to our interpretation.

Firstly, it pays wonderful homage to those sci-fi's of the late 70's and 80's. You can see similarities from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Starman and even FLight Of The Navigator and Cocoon. Nichols and his team even show moments of mixing in religion and sci-fi. When done well, it gives us very interesting ideas and theories and this done it in spades.

Nichols regular leading man Michael Shannon captures his character so well and gives us powerfully subtle performance. Partnering with Joel Edgerton, it was a strong on-screen partnership and made me confident that we were in safe hands for these two to carry this film. A big bonus was the wonderful acting from Jaeden Liberher. The 12- year old child actor gave us great moments throughout and is certainly a big draw. It was also nice to see Kirsten Dunst. After being busy with TV work over the last couple of years, her solid supportive role keeps me interested in any of her future projects. The only other notable performance worth mention was Adam Driver. For the short time he was on screen, the fitted the tone perfectly and also gave nice moments of comedy relief.

The general look of the film was gorgeous to look at. The use of lighting in the night scenes felt soothing and the cinematography made the most of those moments. The action scenes are well made, especially in the final act.

It is an entertaining slow burning sci-fi that leaves us wanting to know more about it. Nichols gave us a great ideas driven story whilst still managing to feel like it is done on a small scale. I loved it that it began in the middle of the story, and that we're catching as the films goes a long, and most importantly they are not spoon feeding us the info along the way. I also liked the execution of mixing in religion with sci-fi that felt so real. The performances in every department were spot on, the score is wonderful and it really does take you back the 70's and 80's with those similarities to sci-fi's that were released back then.

I was really unsure whether to give it a 7 or an 8. But I think the main reason why I eventually gave it a 7 was the pacing. It was too slow for my liking. I like a lot of slow burners. But there were too many moments that lingered too much in my opinion. I think this did not quite work enough for me in this type of film to give it an 8. However, this is an entertaining watch and goes into ideas that we do not see enough.

beautiful

[Kirpianuscus · 3 February 2019]

A beautiful, touching story. Nice performances. Fascinating subject. And a seductive theory, Enough for a real good film about parenthood and special child, interest of secret services fabulous truth and happiness. A film for a real precise target.

Terrific opening scene

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 18 March 2016]

Greetings again from the darkness. Austin-based filmmaker Jeff Nichols serves up some of the familiar themes of spiritualism and parenting seen in his first three films: Mud (2012), Take Shelter (2011), Shotgun Stories (2007), but this time he goes a bit heavier on the science fiction … while maintaining his focus on the individual.

An exceptional opening scene kicks off the story, and Nichols makes sure we are alert by forcing us to absorb and assemble the slew of clues flying at us … an Amber alert, cardboard on the windows of a cheap motel, a news report tying us to San Angelo, Texas, duct tape on the peep hole, a duffel bag of weapons, two anxiety-filled men, and a goggled-boy under a white sheet who seems extremely calm in an otherwise hectic environment. We learn a lot, yet many questions remain.

As the boy and the two men speed off down the backroads, the setting switches to an eerily calm Calvin Meyer (the always great Sam Shepard), who is the leader of a religious cult similar to the Branch Davidians. "The Ranch" is desperate to get the boy back, and we learn they worship the numbers and words the boy has "received" from above. An FBI agent (Paul Sparks) leads the raid on the compound and takes us to an interrogation of Calvin by NSA analyst Paul Sevier (Adam Driver).

Alternating between sci-fi special effects and an "on the run" story line, we slowly pick up more details about the boy Alton (Jaeden Lieberther), as well as the men with him – his father Roy (Michael Shannon) and Roy's childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton). It's not long before they reunite with Alton's mother Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) and we really start to comprehend just how different and special Alton is.

It's easy to see the influence of such films as Starman, E.T.: The ExtraTerrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. We are reminded that our society inevitably assumes the worst when something we don't understand appears right in front of us. The Ranch sees the boy as a savior, and the government labels him a weapon. But it's Shannon who captures the protective determination of a father trying to do the right thing for his son. Shannon again flashes the best 'pained' expression in the business, but it's young Lieberther (so terrific in St. Vincent) who allows us to accept the father/son story in spite of the bright white lasers shooting from his eyeballs.

There are plenty of unanswered questions – not the least of which is, how did two "normal" parents end up with this "special" son? The visuals near the end are impressive to see on screen, but don't appear to have much impact on the final questioning of Lucas or our understanding of how it all happened. It should also be noted that the piano score is especially impactful during both the quiet and thrilling moments. Director Nichols is a talented idea man, but he does leave us wanting more details. (That's his brother singing the song over the closing credits.)

wish all indies were this good...

[A_Different_Drummer · 9/10 · 22 April 2016]

And I can say with some certainty that Jeff Nichols has a heck of a career ahead of him.

To be frank, after your first 1000 or so IMDb reviews, you get a bit cynical. You start to understand that, in spite of the hype, movies are not as good as they used to be -- more like production-line white-bread, all mapped out and pre-sold into the appropriate distribution channels before the first viewer ever even gets a look -- and that in the same time period, TV has come to surpass film in terms of quality and entertainment value.

And then every now and then you get a film like Midnight Special and for a brief moment you start to think this medium might someday recapture its glory days.

I am not going to tell the story or do anything which will diminish your experience, should you choose to see this film.

I will simply say that, if you believe the primary goal of a movie is to hold your interest and entertain, this one does the job from the first frame to the closing credits.

Boy is that refreshing!

The actors -- not name actors -- were excellent.

The special effects were mind-boggling, especially for an indie.

The script breaks (or bends) some rules of conventional narrative but otherwise is so tight you could use it for a drum solo.

Highly recommended.

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Poorly written characters and plot

[zetes · 6/10 · 10 April 2016]

It has many intriguing elements, but it ultimately feels undercooked. That's been my problem with Jeff Nichols all along. Mud is probably my favorite, because it's his most straightforward. His other three films have great concepts, but never amount to much. Midnight Special is his worst so far. It's so vague in its sci-fi concepts - honestly, it's more of a fantasy than a sci-fi, just because it's so vague and more magical than sciency - that I quickly stopped caring. And its characters are even more shallow than its story. To me, it almost feels like all the characters were filmed separately and then combined digitally later on. They all seemed to be reading Nichols' blank dialogue past each others' heads. The lead kid is awful, Michael Shannon gives the exact same performance he gives in all of Nichols' films, and Edgerton and Dunst feel about the same. Only Adam Driver felt like he somewhat resembled a human being, but only resembled. There's some particularly neat looking stuff to see in the finale, but, since neither the story nor the characters had any depth, my whole feeling was, "Who the heck cares?" Well, some people obviously do, but not me.

Good Start, Flat Finish

[ikeybabe · 5/10 · 27 November 2016]

Shannon and Edgerton are superb actors. The premise of the story was interesting with the cult, feds and a father fighting for his son's very existence. It all seems very intriguing, but it all kind of fizzled out for me. The film was long and didn't have a great pay out in the end. While the child at the center of this story seems like a sweet little boy with some beams of light blazing from his eyes, there was no real why or how? *Spoiler Alert* Yeah, he is really part of another reality and somehow landed on THIS earth. But, his abilities weren't really explained and how he came to this conclusion about himself because he saw the rising sun, I don't get. Maybe the film was too existential for me or maybe the writer and director just failed to deliver a great movie. Overall, it was interesting with some visually-pleasing special effects but the story just went flat for me. I will still watch anything starring Shannon and Edgerton though. They're great actors!

Awesome Film ~ Terrible Title

[p-dinning · 10/10 · 10 September 2020]

I was flicking through Amazon Prime movies and came across Midnight Special. I wasn't expecting much to be honest, but wow what a gem of a film this turned out to be. My only criticism is the title, surely they could have come up with something catchier or more relevant than Midnight Special!

Interesting movie.

[doktorwirefly · 7/10 · 14 September 2020]

Most of the reviews I read after watching this movie hold far lower standards than the movie. If you don't like it. Fine. Is there any need or justification for rudeness and vulgarity. I think not. This review is in part, an indictment of all the selfish and opinionated reviews that are hateful rather than helpful. To the reviewer that complained that the meteor shower didn't make sense? That's because it wasn't a meteor shower but had you paid attention you would know that. Anybody who complains about the acting is not a good judge of acting. It was a strong cast and they did a great job. Period. Comparing it to close encounters is only valid from the point of view of an inhabitant of another world wishing to return home. Other than that it has no relationship with that Spielberg nonsense.

I have only one minor criticism of this movie. It is slow paced. Other than that. It kept me engaged thru til the end.

2 Hours on the fine balance of leaving or staying

[hutzdani · 4/10 · 23 April 2016]

Spoilers Ahoy.

A solid movie, good casting good acting and the premise of a good story, some lovely shots and interesting ideas.

However it sits on the line of Jesus this is becoming boring and i'll wait and see how it pans out.

Pans out I should have left, not much story for the audience to stick with and so many subtle gestures and nods between cast members the tread is very very thin.

The idea is interesting enough a boy with unknown special powers that the US Gov thinks they can capture him and use him as a weapon, but no reason as to why they think this.

The decoding of Gov transmissions via satellites to find a location is neither explained or has any real tangible reason to be in such a location as others had been shown parts of the layered on civilization before and not at the special location.

Two hours of not really knowing what the kids power or purpose was all he does some nodding/longing and barley 2 paragraphs of dialogue, stares and vanishes off into this other world he is part of.

There is some average CGI to show off this world for about 60 seconds and SLAM the end.

No reason as to why he needs to go / why he was afraid of day light / why the US wanted him as a weapon.

An E.T idea in principle for the modern day but not very exciting and leaves all questions unanswered, if there is to be a sequel I won't be spending my money on it again. . .

Average movie for a rainy day on rental, worth the cinema price NO, worth the price of a DVD possibly.

Where's the wit? Where's the wonder?

[Scunner · 10 May 2016]

This reminded me of a couple of films, namely Close Encounters and Starman, but with everything good about them ripped out, thrown on the floor and stamped on.

What remained was an overall joyless experience as two sullen, largely monosyllabic mumbling men drove a kid with glowing eyes home for two hours. Of course they had a couple of hurdles to overcome but at no point do you think "Oh no, they're not going to get the glowing eyed kid home". Where previously films of this oeuvre have employed wit, humanity and a sense of wonder to fabulous effect the director of this sullen dross did little other than smash you repeatedly in the face shouting "I AM SERIOUS, I AM IMPORTANT" by making the repetitive turgid soundtrack blare progressively louder and louder. It was bombastic pseudo-intellectual rubbish masquerading as serious cinema.

Just because everyone looks miserable and hardly anyone says anything doesn't automatically make something good. You have to have talent to pull that off and make people care about your morose protagonists despite themselves. Whereas the only comparable thing this nonsense succeeded in doing was making me like a guy from the NSA, basically because he was the only one who seemed capable of speaking in entire sentences and looking slightly interested in what was going on.

I'd rather be forced to sit and watch E.T over and over again Clockwork Orange style for a week than expose myself to this inane garbage again. And I hate E.T.

Could Have Been an Exceptional Movie

[ldennis64 · 7/10 · 17 May 2020]

This movie had potential excellent acting from an all star cast. I dont know if the misstep was in the writing, directing or editing? All other aspects were spot on. I feel this way because it felt a large part of the movie was missing. I feel as though I walked into the middle of the movie and was missing key information. Though I got to know and like or dislike the characters they didnt build the story enough or editing destroyed its introduction or it could be that the writer or director (spoiler alert) didnt want you to know more than what they wanted you to know and only that they were on the run from the beginning which is unfortunate. I wanted more and with the lack of a part 2, you can only guess. It feels like this was supposed to be part 2 of another movie but which, I'm not sure. Good but could have been better.

Really hard to know what to make of this

[Cragsidebarry · 6/10 · 9 June 2020]

1. True to the genre 2. Overall well made, directed, acted 3. Some enormous plot holes 4. Very disappointing last few minutes 5. Not surprised it lost money 6. Worth watching at a convention 7. Main characters not very believable 8. Some very pretty CGI

E.T. with a real kid and not an alien. Worth seeing, but must be in the mood for.

[cosmo_tiger · 6/10 · 12 May 2016]

"You have no clue what you're dealing with do you?" Alton Meyer (Lieberher) has been taken from "The Ranch" by his father Roy (Shannon) and they are on the run from them and the FBI. Alton is a very special kid and Roy knows this. He is trying to bring Alton where he wants to go, but must find ways to hide from everyone in order to protect Alton, and his power. This is a very good and very decent family movie. There are parts that may be a little intense for younger kids but nothing too bad. The best way to describe this is a type of human E.T. The movie is essentially one long chase sequence but hold your interest and really keep you wondering and engrossed. The movie is a little bizarre but worth seeing. This is one that I think people will either love or hate, and really one that must be seen to understand what I am trying to say. I did like this enough and do recommend it but isn't really a movie for everyone. Overall, E.T. with a real kid and not an alien. Worth seeing, but must be in the mood for. I give this a B.

E.T meets Mercury Raising

[herlim-52837 · 7/10 · 11 September 2020]

Although we've all seen a version of this story in one form or another before, it's pretty good.

Unearthly Drama with an Emotional Punch

[Skruffbagg · 8/10 · 21 April 2016]

This film really came out of nowhere for me, as a comment by a stranger I overheard in a bar drew me to this, and thank you nameless stranger with impeccable taste! This is one of those sci-fi flicks that comes along every once in a while that actually has something to say without overuse of CGI and genre tropes.

I knew almost nothing about Midnight Special going in other than said comment, and I highly recommend you try to do the same. Therefore I will be as brief as possible to avoid spoilers.

Roy (Michael Shannon) is on the run with his 8 year old son Alden (Jaeden Lieberher) from a religious cult that worships the boy as some sort of messiah. Also in pursuit are the FBI and NSA, who are investigating several strange phenomena connected with the child. Roy enlists childhood friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) to help them get to a specific location on a specific date, the reasons for which are unclear but may involve some sort of otherworldly or cataclysmic event.

The comparisons with Starman (1984) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are apt, but this is very definitely a different movie altogether.

The actors are uniformly excellent, especially Michael Shannon, who gives another intense and believable performance as a man who would do anything for his son.

A bit has been made out of how the movie ends, but personally I found it a powerful emotional pay-off that I could feel in my chest, possibly due to the nostalgic feeling this film evokes.

In conclusion, go see it. A thought provoking sci-fi drama with a story to tell. A good one at that.

Well Made Slow-Burning Sci-Fi Drama

[bkrauser-81-311064 · 7/10 · 21 April 2016]

Director/screenwriter Jeff Nichols has made quite a nice niche for himself creating clever, thought-provoking and atmospheric films about seemingly ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances. Whether it be the quite intensity of Michael Shannon in Take Shelter (2011) or the rascally roguishness of Matthew McConaughey in Mud (2012), Nichols always manages to find the humanity underneath the story in ways few directors can. His common leitmotif is middle- class, rural Americana and the quiet dignity thereof, to which Midnight Special is no exception.

Yet there's a little more at play here; another ball that's been thrown in the air for Nichols to juggle. The story takes place over the few days it takes for Alton Meyer (Lieberher) and father Roy (Shannon) to get from Texas to Florida. We're thrust into the middle of the action and forced to sift through visual cues and cryptic dialogue to discern the plot. What is obvious from the get go, is Alton, Roy and trusting partner in crime Lucas (Edgerton) are on the run from the FBI, the NSA and a religious cult who see Alton as a prophet and perhaps the second coming. The investigation of Alton's "abduction" is spearheaded by NSA lackey Paul Sevier (Driver) who sits uncomfortably with cult leader Calvin Meyer (Shepard) to find out how Alton has the ability to pickup encrypted satellite messages.

If put in other hands, years in turnaround would have turned Midnight Special into a bombastic sci-fi action-thriller and a clone of something we've seen a hundred times before; in other words, nothing special. Nichols wisely takes the sci-fi high concept and grounds it in a slow-burning human drama. Such an accomplishment would have been impossible if not for the film's talented cast. Michael Shannon's intense grimace seems specifically suited for films of great drama and intensity. Every showcase of Alton's "powers" is made believable not by intricate special effects details but by Shannon's reactions. Edgerton likewise does a commendable job as an outsider turned protector. It's his ingenuity and forethought that gets the team past everything standing in their way. Then of course there's Kirsten Dunst playing Alton's biological mother Sarah. She shows up halfway through the film but nevertheless manages to top Shannon and Edgerton by the power of haggard but stalwart guardianship. She along with newcomer Jaeden Lieberher are easily the best things about Midnight Special.

Yet despite stellar acting and some admittedly impressive CGI set- pieces, Midnight Special suffers from the contrivance of the main story and the mode in which it is delivered. Nichols tries oh so hard to shroud the story in mystery that the story dances recklessly into kitsch and sabotages itself from reaching its full potential. The cryptic dialogue and coy editing works for about an hour or so. Our mind swells with questions like: who are these people; what's up with this cult; what is the significance of the location their headed to; what are all the character's relationships with the cult? But after the tension builds up without questions being answered, I could feel the dissatisfaction of the audience bubbling to the surface.

I give the collaborators on this film a lot of credit for refusing to talk down to it's audience with tortured exposition dumps and goofy sci-fi jargon. Only Adam Driver's character gets the closest to being a narrative conduit. But just when you think his NSA operative job is merely connective tissue, the film manages to sneak in a character arc that, while coming out of left field, feels natural. Still, some background wouldn't hurt given the fact that the film delves into theology, ontological philosophy, quantum physics and other concepts only expanded on in modern sci-fi literature. This movie feels engineered for the internet age, where Buzzfeed articles and comment section philosophizers can pick apart every detail to search of deeper meaning.

Midnight Special is a good film. It's well shot, well directed and fantastically acted by a cast that takes a convoluted script and turns it into a story loaded with subtext and chances to show honest human emotion. Jeff Nichols whom by all accounts is a talent with a bright future, as an acumen for building tension out of simple moments between characters and well timed sequences of intense action. Yet when the audience reaches a frenzy, Nichols struggles to deliver the catharsis we crave. Still you can't blame a movie for being ambitious which Midnight Special certainly is.

A Highly Disappointing SF Film Mashup

[Cinnyaste · 3/10 · 22 April 2016]

It's partially the casting, partially the direction sinking this film. Mostly it's a script cobbed together from "ET," "Starman," a dash of "CE3K," the Superman legend, "Village of the Damned," and generic child-in-jeopardy tale. That's the most amazing, and disappointing, aspect of "Midnight Special" - that the creative and original Jeff Nichols wrote a shamefully derivative script filled with plot holes large enough to fly a mothership through.

After a compelling first act, "Midnight Special" turns into a boring chase/race-against-time story of an extraordinary, luminous boy with 'powers and abilities far beyond that of mortal men' sought by the Feds and a cultish church who venerate him because he speaks coordinates in tongues. This boy comes from "a world-on-world" whose inhabitants watch over us. (Given the state of the world, they're doing a crappy job.) The explanation tracks more like angels from another dimension than aliens.

The boy, played by Jaeden Lieberher, fails to create sympathy through all the chaos. The wonderful Kirsten Dunst has never been more wasted in a placeholder role as the boy's mom. Shannon is his hulking father. Edgerton only serviceable as a tag along State Trooper. They dodge bullets on a lumbering path to specific Florida coordinates where the boy has a date with destiny; the merging of dimension X and our pitiful dimension. Other luminous beings spirit the boy away and POOF - the convergence disappears. Big deal! A most unsatisfying and anticlimactic end that does not inspire the wonder the special effects technicians hoped it would despite Mom's mugging at the otherworldly architecture.

It might occur this is a Jesus allegory with a 'birth' of a messiah from common parents. There's not a glimmer of that (save some 'fire from Heaven'). Early on, there was promise of social commentary about our over-surveilled lives. Nope. That's not present either. Also lacking, commentary about people steeping in religious fervor to fill absences in themselves. The church members, including Sam Shepherd, are caricatures.

"Midnight Special" adds neither subtext nor exposition to a story begging for some. Even the title derived from the song doesn't track. "Let the Midnight Special shine a light on me." Okay, he did shine light, but the Feds - after everyone within a hundred mile radius sees the other world - still prosecute and jail Dad and the Trooper. That we're deaf, dumb and blind in a mysterious Universe is not a lot to be left with after two hours.

Too much mystery ruins a film - the slight flash of light in Dad's eyes at fade out an example. Without context, too much mystery makes "Midnight Special" an uncooked, epic misfire in this dimension or any other. Give it a pass.

great small scale sci-fi fare

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 24 December 2016]

In Texas, Roy Tomlin (Michael Shannon) and Lucas (Joel Edgerton) are being hunted by the cops for kidnapping eight year old Alton Meyer. Alton's adoptive father Calvin Meyer (Sam Shepard) leads the Ranch filled with his religious followers. They are raided by the FBI. NSA agent Paul Sevier (Adam Driver) is investigating the anomaly that is the boy. Alton shows unnatural powers with light streaming out of his eyes. Roy and Lucas eventually bring him to Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) on a rendezvous with destiny.

This has a great sense of sci-fi realism in a small indie. Shannon simply has intensity. There is a small hiccup when the boy gets captured by the authorities. That section feels disjointed with some logic problems. The movie unnecessarily over-reaches at that point. It could easily streamlined that into something grittier and smaller. In the end, this is a really nice sci-fi indie.

Good, but definitely not for everyone.

[rishis-28921 · 7/10 · 11 April 2017]

The latest work by up and coming writer/director Jeff Nichols isn't as entertaining as I would have hoped, nor is the more artsy aspect of it particularly avant-garde, but it's a well-directed and beautiful piece of filmmaking. It follows a boy who possesses extraordinary powers as he struggles to find out who - or what - he is, while being chased by both the US Government and a religious cult which has formed around him and sees him as God.

I have to admit, the plot is quite linear and doesn't tend to wander off course. However, the course which Nichols has selected isn't, I believe, the most interesting, entertaining or exciting one. The story just goes and goes and goes and goes and then ends quite abruptly.

The main positive points of the film were its gorgeous score and minimalist tone throughout. Little emphasis is put on dialogue, which is challenging for the cast, who hold the piece together remarkably well. Nichols' writing is excellent and it is very well shot. The ending is also very emotional and sad in a way. But the luscious ambient score is definitely one of the high points, especially in an era of identikit orchestral fanfares and high-energy strings.

8 / 10 (Great). More of a film for a lazy day as opposed to a weekend with your friends, but I get the feeling that having landed Kirsten Dunst, Joel Edgerton, Michael Shannon and Adam Driver - as well as the very talented Jaeden Lieberher - we haven't seen Nichols at his peak quite yet. But, by all means, this bodes well.

too many unanswered questions

[dyerj-3 · 5/10 · 10 October 2020]

Thought it was a great movie until it ended without completing the story. What was the purpose of the boy being in this world? How did his two normal parents give birth to boy with odd powers from another world? What was the purpose of the boy's powers? What was this other world all about?

If the writers expected us to complete their incomplete story, that fell flat with me. The acting was great, the suspense was constant, but the ending was a disappointment. I expected the movie to pull things together and make sense. It didn't.