Film Review: ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ is a Shockingly Lifeless Endeavor

It’s kind of baffling how lifeless In the Blink of an Eye is. For a film that deeply yearns to be life-affirming and even to move you to tears, there’s a distinct lack of humanity to be found. Sure, there are humans within the movie, though they all have an aimless quality to them. That leaves you to focus on the visuals, which are often pretty, yet very hollow, and the writing, which has the bones of something worthwhile. It’s a shame to see this kind of flick fumbled, since it so easily could have ended up as the sort of work that wins me over. Instead, it’s instantly forgettable

In the Blink of an Eye should very much be my jam. For example, this is trafficking in not dissimilar territory from something like The Fountain, which is one of my favorite films of all time. So, I’m a mark for a tear-jerker with some science fiction elements. Yet, what we end up with here is bland, lifeless, and devoid of any real feelings.

Telling three stories that span thousands of years, we first meet a trio of neanderthals in 45,000 BC. There’s father Thorn (Jorge Vargas), mother Hera (Tanaya Beatty), and young daughter Lark (Skywalker Hughes), with Hera pregnant. Their existence sets the tone for what’s to come. We then are introduced to Claire (Rashida Jones), an anthropologist working on, you guessed it, one of our neanderthal friends. She’s dealing with a sick mother. as well as a budding relationship with Greg (Daveed Diggs), which is a strain on her in all kinds of ways.

The other section is set well into the future (the 2400s), when aging has basically been cured. Coakley (Kate McKinnon) is alone on a spaceship setting out to colonize a new world. With only the ship’s A.I. computer ROSCO (voice of Rhona Rees) for company, she’s attempting to keep a whole host of stem cells that will become child colonists on a distant planet. That becomes difficult when the plants providing life support develop an infection. Cutting between all three stories, we’re supposed to understand how everything is connected…but to what end?

The cast does what they can, especially Kate McKinnon, often acting solo, but everyone is so underwritten that it’s hard to get much out of it. Daveed Diggs elevates a role that’s nearly non-existent, while Rashida Jones is solid as what’s close enough to our lead, but it’s only McKinnon, going full drama, who leaves anything close to a mark. In addition to Tanaya Beatty, Skywalker Hughes, and Jorge Vargas, as well as the voice of Rhona Rees, supporting players include Tatyana Rose Baptiste, Yeji Kim, and more.

Director Andrew Stanton proves a very poor fit for Colby Day‘s once Black List level screenplay. It’s a shame that Stanton has not been able to do good work in live action (his other effort of that ilk is the deeply mediocre boondoggle John Carter), since his animated work at Pixar is beyond reproach. A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and Finding Dory cemented him as one of the best in animation, but with live action, it just does not work. Only 94 minutes long, it feels nearly double, as there’s no take on Day’s admittedly simplistic script. Thomas Newman‘s score is a winner and does the heavy lifting, to be fair, but it’s just not enough. There’s also the puzzling message at the end of the movie that maybe death is a good thing? I bounced off that in a major way.

In the Blink of an Eye is not quite overtly bad, but aside from the score, there’s nothing here that you can fully get behind. Debuting this weekend on Hulu, the flick is destined to be immediately forgotten about. Considering the talent involved, that makes this undeniably a massive misfire. The film could have been better, should have been better, and now is set to immediately disappear…in the blink of an eye.

SCORE: ★★