What is it noted? PG-13

When? 2021

Where is it displayed? HBO Max, and in theaters (check local theaters listings)

Lisa Joy (HBO’s co-creator and executive producer Westworld) directs this sci-fi thriller, which marks the writer-director’s debut feature. The film is set in Miami, in a not-so-far-fetched future where climate change has caused the oceans to rise and the city to flood.

The imagery is pretty neat, as the tops of Miami’s skyscrapers are still visible above the ocean. It reminded me of the flooded landscape of New York in Spielberg’s underrated masterpiece, AI Artificial Intelligence (actually, please do yourself a favor and watch this instead). This semi-apocalyptic setting is the most interesting aspect of Reminiscence, but the script is unfortunately not up to the task.

The premise is intriguing, however: Hugh Jackman plays Nick Bannister, who works for a company that allows clients to relive nostalgic memories of the past, as a way to escape the bleak present. After the woman he loves, called only Mae (Rebecca Ferguson, who also worked with Jackman in The greatest showman), disappears, Bannister begins to revisit his own memories over and over again in an attempt to find clues and follow his current whereabouts.

I think I would have appreciated Reminiscence more if it wasn’t so heavy, especially in Jackman’s constant dialogue and storytelling (which seems pointless and sometimes condescending). Maybe one day they will release a song without narration, like the director of Blade runner, which removed Harrison Ford’s blasted voiceovers (by now many have forgotten that the original cut even had narration).

While its visuals are certainly memorable, the overall experience of watching Reminiscence is ironically forgettable. (148 minutes)