There goes its Oscar chances. Robert Zemeckis’ “Here,” an ambitious $80M project, premiered at the AFI Film Festival last night to middling reviews.
Pans are coming in from IGN, THR, Variety, The Daily Beast, Mashable, UPI, and Screen. The only positive review has IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio giving the film a “B” grade.
“Here,” set for November 15 release, and starring Tom Hanks, is an ambitious endeavor from Zemeckis as it was shot from a single POV, without movement or zooms, across a centuries-spanning narrative.
Based on Richard McGuire’s graphic novel, “Here,” which clocks in at 104 minutes, covers the events of a single room and its inhabitants spanning from the past (paleolithic, dinosaurs) to well into the future as Tom Hanks and Robin Wright get de-aged in a film that sees them meet as teenagers and grow old well into their 80s.
In “Here,” Zemeckis uses deepfake VFX to de-age actors with the help of effects studio Metaphysic. The technology will use high-resolution photorealistic face swaps and de-aging effects on top of actors’ performances live and in real-time without the need for further compositing or VFX work.
Chalk this one up as yet another Zemeckis that’s failed to ignite positive vibes with critics; his last three have been “Pinocchio,” “The Witches” and “Welcome to Marwen.”
Zemeckis’ glory years took place from 1980-2000 — “Used Cars,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Back to the Future,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Forrest Gump,” “Contact” and “Cast Away.” These last 20 years, he’s not been able to find a consistent groove. His more “approvable” films of the current century are “Allied,” “The Walk” and “Flight.”