When you hear there exists a story about a little girl who has the power to create fire, and her father who can manipulate someone’s thoughts, you know you’re in for some incredible set pieces that showcase their awesome powers; and that’s what you more or less got with Stephen King’s novel Firestarter. And when you have a movie with characters tunneling into other people’s minds by using their extraordinary powers of telepathy, similarly you sort of expect remarkable occurrences and fascinating concepts, but I kept asking myself watching The Speed of Thought, Where are they?
In the film, Nick Stahl plays Joshua Lazarus, a government operative, womanizer and telepath; and anyone with that power is referred to as a Scoper. Writer/director Evan Oppenheimer came up with some interesting terms (like Scoper) and concepts like Merging which is the act of melding two minds in an intimate, almost soulful exploration between two people’s thoughts and memories. But Oppenheimer fails to make that concept at all compelling to watch, and just seems to rely on a montage of seemingly random archive images. And the way the film shows a Scoper examining someone’s thoughts: The Scoper is juxtaposed with the Scopee in front of a cheap-looking backdrop that resembles one usually seen in school photos. Obviously this film didn’t have a budget for exciting visuals, but special effects are not necessary to make a believable and good film about the supernatural – only good taste. If you look at David Cronenberg’s 1983 The Dead Zone, you’ll see a film that uses clever camera work, effective lighting and great acting – and not cheesy gimmicks – to make an exciting picture about a man who can see into someone’s future by touching that person.
The Speed of Thought is a lazy film. It contains chases, but it’s not as exciting as it could and should’ve been. It has romance, but it all feels very superficial, when there is so much potential for something fresh and unique between two Scopers who fall in love. Instead Oppenheimer settles for the kind of love affair that needs a love scene to show the viewers that, "See? They’re totally in love now."
Films of the supernatural don’t require explosions or ostentatious action scenes to be a success. They don’t need to be like an X-Men movie. They just need original stories filled with fresh and clever ideas. The beginning – though not remarkable – is certainly the most interesting part of this movie: It shows Lazarus hitting on a girl and making considerable headway in no time at all by simply using his gift to read her mind. It is interesting enough and promises a film much better than one it turns out to be, and there are no special effects or explosions; just two patrons sitting at a bar like a couple of normal people.
"The Speed of Thought" is on sale April 12, 2011 and is not rated. Adventure, Sci-Fi. Written and directed by Evan Oppenheimer. Starring Mia Maestro, Nick Stahl, Taryn Manning, Wallace Shawn.
