Blink Twice (2024)

*Fully holding a knife* 
"They're trying to make us look crazy!! 
and…….. it's working." 

If you didn't get it or didn't like it, aside from actual filming techniques and on a conceptual level, then I would strongly believe that you're telling on yourself. Conceptually, I think it was a very strong plot with messages that society needs to hear and see for themselves. A strong directing debut from Zoë Kravitz with this one. This is definitely a film that really makes you think about things and definitely had me discussing it with the people I saw it with afterwards. It definitely makes you think, which is what I think Kravitz was going for, but whether or not it was executed in the best way is questionable. 

I have to begin this review with acknowledging how well of a job Channing Tatum did with his role as Slater King. It emcompasses the traits of a sadistic narcissist so well, showcasing how easily-likeable and charming he is at the beginning and how actually deranged and twisted he is at the end. Seeing such a wide-range of characters in recent films like Deadpool and Wolverine and Fly Me to the Moon makes me really excited to see Channing's acting career develop and admire his incredible range of such different portrayals. The "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY" scene definitely resulted in me taking him more seriously as an actor and acknowledging his absolute ability of range.

The film starts off slow like others have said, no doubt. It's interesting and thrilling enough to keep you somewhat intrigued, but still slow enough for you not to anticipate what's actually about to happen. Once they get to Slater King's private island, things start to take a turn for the worst. 

I must also acknowledge Adria Arjona's character, who I've only seen in Hit Man, but does an amazing job at balancing the film with comedic relief and the seriousness of the situation. I really enjoyed how real of a character she was throughout the film, because I feel that I would react similarly if I was unsure of what was going on but I knew things were bad; however, like some other users have said, I think the comedy and especially the ending are where I have issues. 

There are comedic lines and exeuctions that I think takeaway from some of the climax moments of the film. I must say, I appreciate the fact that this film showcases you can illustrate sexual assault scenes without actually depicting the act itself. I'm a firm believer that even if sexual assault is a crucial part of the storyline, there's no need to actually show it happening. Perhaps in limited circumstances, but I can't fathom of one myself. Regardless, I think that they did it really well in this film and really enjoyed the symbolism, especially when it's a serious issue for women that still needs to be discussed heavily in our society. 

It's a shame they do so well with depicting the sexual assault scenes and then the rest of the film following those scenes seem to diminish the severeity and importance of the situation. I will say without revealing too much information, I was not a fan of the ending that they chose. I was hoping that the ending would be what they initially led us on to think, without the plot twist. I think that the ending may send the wrong message, in which I understand it may be just a part of film to be "different" and get the audience thinking, but I still was not a fan of the ending. I think that it really took away from the message the film was overall trying to convey. 

In all, I found this film to be really interesting and appreciated the tastefulness of the way they went about shooting certain scenes as well as the scenery. I think the shots were nice and the acting was incredible, my only fall is with the ending and comedy in serious situations where I don't think that it was applicable, but that's also just my own personal opinion. I think that this is an important movie to watch for all audiences, as it is very relevant to our society today and has a lot of good representation and symbolism. I just wasn't a fan of all the hard work, thought, and effort that was put into the entirety of the film just to be minimalized at the end.