NO STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rated PG-13 for sensuality, language and a scene of drug use.
105 Minutes
Directed By: Bronwen Hughs
Written By: Marc Lawrence
Staring: Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, Blythe Danner, Maura Tierney, Steve Zahn, and Ronny Cox
Sometimes the people we meet change us forever. -Ben Holmes
Synopsis
A soon-to-be-married man encounters an exciting stranger after his plane suffers an accident on takeoff.
Review
Here we have the perfect example of Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock at their absolute worst in a film that completely exposes their inabilities as actors because the film itself is absolutely horrible. Because their weaknesses as actors were fully exploited in this ill-fated story about lovers who are or aren’t meant to be, you sitting hoping there is some end to the torture that is in between. I would have been more content watching Elmo instead.
Sandra Bullock can pull off a romantic comedy or action movie if the script is good enough (Demolition Man), her supporting actors are strong enough (While You Were Sleeping), or her lead man can compensate for how incredibly annoying she is (Speed). In Forces Of Nature there was no such saving grace. It seemed the cards were ultimately stacked against her. Having Ben Affleck as her man of interest, and also an actor that is absolutely horrible as her counterpart did not help matters. The script itself made for two leads that were virtually unlikable, weak of character or any sense of morality, and unfortunately these two leads didn’t often have the aid of a charismatic supporting cast to distract from the weak script, and their bad acting.
The story itself was unlikable. The two most intriguing characters played by Maura Tierney and Steve Zahn were hardly onscreen and essentially never really interacting with the two leads, yet they were the most relatable characters. The dialogue between Bullock and Affleck was pathetic even without their bland delivery. There was never a time their attraction or infatuation with each other was ever explored beyond a superficial level, and the trite contemplations about relationships and monogamy was insulting.
It felt like director Bronwen Hughs was trying to be edgy and cool, and casting Bullock as this dark character was his way of doing something all crazy and inventive, when it was really just a terrible facade for a mediocre actress who had been lucky and smart enough to pick the right roles for herself up to that point. Poor Ben Affleck has just continued his downward spiral with this and Reindeer Games, and thus, nearly a decade later, has not redeemed himself, but for brief Kevin Smith moments.
Forces Of Nature was by far one of the worst movies in the past ten years, and could possibly be used as a form of punishment or torture for some people. I have viewed it in it’s entirety three times now hoping with age that it may have gained some perspective or wisdom, but if anything it has become a further reminder why Affleck shouldn’t act and Sandra Bullock should stay in the Miss Congeniality genre. The Verdict? I am now fully convinced that this is one of the worst movies ever, and I will no longer force myself to watch it.
this movie was horrid