K-Pax

Directed by: Iain Softley

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges

Rating:

I'll start off by saying that this movie isn't what I expected it to be. And by the score I've given it, you can probably imagine that it wasn't as good as I would've wanted it to be. K-Pax is the story of a psychiatrist, Jeff Bridges, who is introduced to a patient, Kevin Spacey, who says that he's an alien. Although ridiculous to Jeff Bridges at first, after many meetings with his new patient, he begins to believe. Not only does he, but so do the rest of his patients, who all begin competing for the opportunity to accompany Spacey back to his home planet, K-Pax. Interesting premise, but it falls short.

I'll start the breakdown. First, the cinematography is very good. There are some beautiful scenes and interesting touches put to flashbacks. The acting is fantastic. Jeff Bridges is pretty consistent when it comes to his acting. He's never great but he's always good enough not to stick out. Kevin Spacey...I can't say enough good things about him. He's always superb and this movie is no exception.

Even though the story and the writing may be lacking, he brings so much to the movie and his part. As one of my friends said once, and I really agree, the sign of a good actor is if you can't see anyone else playing the role that they did. This is a case where that's obvious. I can't see anyone else playing the role that Kevin Spacey had.

What else? The score was decent, but nothing outstanding. I was most impressed with the chemistry between the two leads and the best scenes are by far the ones with the two of them together.

What was wrong with the movie? First, it dragged. I found myself consistently checking my watch to see how much longer there was to go. Next, the writing was nothing spectacular. What was good was the delivery, not the lines. I also didn't like the end of the movie. Of course, I won't go into details as to why but I was just disappointed, and not in the way you would imagine. I just thought it was strange and unneeded. All in all, this movie is depressing and slow but well acted and has moments where it's funny and entertaining. I wouldn't pay money to go see it again, I'd wait until it's on cable.