Hugh Jackman's Ambitious 2021 Sci-Fi Flop Deserves A Second Chance

2021 was a truly unpredictable time for Warner Bros., considering the COVID-19 pandemic left a bunch of their movies in limbo. Theaters had started to open back up again, albeit slowly. It prompted an unprecedented move where audiences could choose whether to see new movies like "Judas and the Black Messiah," "Godzilla vs. Kong," and "In the Heights" in theaters or on HBO Max, where they were simultaneously released on the same day. Some proved to be theatrical hits, while others didn't have enough momentum to make much of a lasting impact on the streaming side of things. Among the latter group was "Reminiscence," an ambitious sci-fi neo-noir starring Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson that sadly flopped at the box office. While it doesn't achieve the heights of its cinematic influences, the film is a fun throwback that puts a considerable amount of effort into carrying out its premise.

In her directorial debut, "Westworld" co-creator Lisa Joy envisions a world where climate change has all but partially submerged cities like Miami underwater. People take boat rides to get to where they need to go instead of driving cars. One of the biggest sources of pleasure is that of nostalgia, which can be obtained through a water-based memory machine called Reminiscence. The world of one of its operators, Nick Bannister (Jackman), is turned upside down when a beautiful nightclub singer named Mae (Ferguson) walks in. The two begin a steamy love affair, that is, until Mae mysteriously vanishes, prompting Nick to spiral down a rabbit hole that throws everything he knows into question.

/Film's Chris Evangelista gave "Reminiscence" a mixed review when it came out. In the years since, however, its pulpy approach feels welcome coming from the studio system that used to make movies like this regularly.

"Reminiscence" is by no means revolutionary, but Joy's vision of a ruined world whose future lies in the addictive nature of nostalgia is a breath of fresh air. It's an endearingly silly mashup of elements from "Blade Runner," "Chinatown," and "Vertigo." Although that's what makes it kind of fun. The dystopian fatalism of "Reminiscence" isn't just reflected in Bannister's search for answers, but in the rising tides that have reclaimed the planet. I love seeing how humanity grasps onto memories of the good times to cope with an unfortunately relevant shift in climate change. DP Paul Cameron and Production Designer Howard Cummings make it feel oddly beautiful and lived in, especially during an underwater fight scene that takes place in a completely submerged movie palace.

Jackman makes for a compelling protagonist in all of this, too, as a former veteran of an unnamed war that's led him to become the gatekeeper of other people's happiness, while suppressing his own. Not to mention that he imbues the film with narration that reflects the cadence of a '40s noir detective. It's impossible to fully write off "Reminiscence" when Joy's screenplay is loaded with pulpy internal monologues like "if there are ghosts to be found, it's us who haunt the past" and "memory is the boat that sails against its current, and I'm the oarsman." It's like catnip to me. You know what kind of movie you're getting into when Ferguson enters the film as this glowing enigma in red lipstick that Jackman understandably can't help but be mesmerized by. For these reasons alone, it would be great to see it gain a second life.