The Prodigy (2019)

Let me just say that they tried REALLY hard with this one. Trying to put a new spin on an old story, Which sure, they did. But it was still predictable around every turn. Every little "twist" I saw coming from a mile away. At one point the main character makes a "realization" and I actually thought, you just NOW figured that out??? ha. I was intrigued through most of it, but got a little bored at the end as I had already figured out where they were going. So I will give it a five for a solid effort.

Fmovies: It was a predictable mediocre movie, with average editing and shot composition. My only gripe is that you get a face full of baby peen in the first five minutes, it is way bigger than mine and completely ruined the mood turning a 5/10 movie into a 3/10 movie. I hope that in the dvd release they change the scene so that I can get back what little dignity I have left.

Another movie with potential ruined by horrible writing.

The Prodigy fmovies. Right up front i wanna say i've glanced at the mixed reviews so far on R.T. & Metacritic, so here we have another case of "Man of Steel-Itis", and i'm on the positive sign. For one the actors here do a great job, Taylor from "Orange Is The New Black" does a great job with ehr looks of concern, doubt & fear and for her first horror film, wouldn't mind seeing her do more. Course it's a great sign when you have young Georgie from "IT" in your film, and i'll say the whole theme the plot goes for i REEEEEALLY dug, especially some interactions between two specific characters, and that ending...well let's just say the kinda person I am, i really dig endings like this. Overall i would highly recommend seeing this year

I've never been a huge fan of the horror genre, aside from a few gems that stand out to me. It takes a lot for a horror film to impress me, as the genre has become somewhat of the butt of many jokes these days. The Prodigy wasn't ever going to be the best horror film to come along in decades or anything like that, so I had no expectations when going into this one. With that said, this is the definition of a film that has a lot of promising elements, but ultimately fails to capitalize on them. I can't get myself to recommend this movie, but I also don't feel the need to rip it apart either. The Prodigy is a middle of the road experience at best, but there is some good in it.

After failing to conceive a child for many years, a couple gains the happiness they've been seeking when it finally becomes possible. After just months of being born, Miles shows signs of being a genius, hence the title, The Prodigy. When mysterious things begin to occur due to his behaviour, religious beliefs and myths come to light and this film becomes incredibly intriguing. Without ruining what powers are really at work here, I'll just say the twist of this story had me hooked. It's a little silly an overly convoluted, but it worked in the context of the film.

Sadly, that's where most of my praise ends. With a solid cast including Taylor Schilling, Colm Feore, and young Jackson Robert Scott, they're able to sell this material and make it very believable. The third act, however, is one of the dumbest conclusions to a film I've seen a while. To even get into it would be a spoiler, but it felt like the climax to a completely different film and it felt mean-spirited to me. It's like a unique idea was building to something cool, but ultimately takes a super easy route out of the story and the fact that it's a child playing this certain role was slightly disturbing (in a bad way).

In the end, The Prodigy is a horror film that benefits from a few great jump-scares that had me jumping out of my seat and some very devoted performances, but the movie truly does unravel by the time the credits roll. This is the worst kind of film to watch because it's not terrible by any means, but it doesn't fully embrace its premise. This movie was like watching a superhero film where the hero of the story tells you everything they can do, but never showcases much of that power. The Prodigy may please some viewers, but I found it to be a waste of potential and mean-spirited from start to finish. Even though I wasn't excited for this movie in any way, I was still disappointed.

After seeing the trailer a couple of time I was quite excited for this movie. When I heard they had to edit some scenes because they were to scary for the test-audience I thought I would finally be seeing an actual horror movie. Unfortunately, this movie did not deliver for me. There were only two scary shots, one which was in the trailer. Furthermore, the movie explained way too much, way too soon for me, following a standard formula without any true twist. There wasn't anything to second guess, no 'did he or didn't he?', no other explanations or roads explored. A very straightforward movie that wasn't all that scary. Disappointing.