Film review of "Hypnotic" and comparison with "The X-Files" episode "Pusher"

 

The third season of "The X-Files" had an episode called "Pusher" where Agents Mulder and Scully fought a guy who could control people's minds with his words. Now, in the movie "Hypnotic," director Robert Rodriguez seems to have taken inspiration from that episode and from Christopher Nolan's work, but unfortunately, the movie doesn't tell a good story. It's about a police detective named Danny Rourke (played by Ben Affleck) who's trying to solve a bank robbery where people seem to be controlled by a mysterious man named Lev Dellrayne (played by William Fichtner) who has hypnotic powers. Rourke discovers that Dellrayne might have something to do with the disappearance of his daughter.

Unfortunately, the movie is confusing and hard to follow, with a flat script and poor acting from Affleck. Fichtner's performance as the villain is one of the highlights of the film, but overall, it feels like a step backward for Rodriguez, who used to be an innovative and experimental filmmaker.