User Reviews

I don't know why this movie has such a low rating, 7 is worse than 9 ;) Maybe a lot of people didn't understand it. If you like sci-fi or mind-bending movies you definitely MUST watch this.

Anyway, for people that didn't totally understand this movie: (spoiler alert!!!)

Basically it is all a huge paradox that never begin and never end. You don't have to try understand when it begin because is a paradox.

The characters are:

little Jane, Jane as an adult, The first John, the second John (Ethan Hawke) and the Fizzle Bomber...AND THEY ARE ALL THE SAME PERSON!!!! She is the daughter of herself with himself etc..

here's the time line (the Jane/John life ... not the movie)

Little Jane was born and is kidnapped by the second John and is carried in the past... Little Jane grows and becomes the adult Jane... The adult Jane meets first John out of the university... Jane and John fall in love... and conceive little Jane... Jane gives birth to little Jane and undergoes... physical damage during birth and become the first John... Fist John lives as a man and writes for a magazine... The first John meets the second John at the bar... The two John travel together in the past... The first John meets Jane out of the university... The first John dump Jane and starts chasing the Fizzle bomber... The first John suffers face burns in a meeting with the Fizzle Bomber... The first John becomes the second John... The second John goes to the bar to meet the first John... Together they go into the past... While the first John meets Jane out of the university: the second John succeeds only to help the first John just burned, and then he goes in the future to kidnap little Jane and takes her in the past to start again the circle... The second John fetches the first John who has to leave Jane... The second John retires... The second John discovers that Fizzle bomber is himself and kills him... The second John understands that the only thing he wants is to meet again with himself and decides to really start to be the Fizzle Bomber.

... And again .... and again .... and again ... and again ....

SUCH A GREAT MOVIE(sorry for my English)

I just watched this movie again for the third time tonight and it blew me away just as it did the first time I watched it. And although it's cliche to say, it's absolutely true with this film that everytime you see it you'll catch something new that was missed previously. The story is brilliant and the acting by Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, and Noah Taylor was just top notch - each of them deserved an Oscar nomination (and no that's not hyperbole).

To all the negative reviewers, who either 1. Complain they don't understand the plot, 2. Thought the plot was "ridiculous", or 3. Claim the "twist" was too "predictable", let me tell you why you're all embarrassingly wrong.

The "twist" is not that the Barkeep and Unmarried mother is the same person, that was pretty much revealed in the first 5 minutes of the film when you see the burnt face of Jane in the explosion being surgically repaired to become the healed face of the Bartender. If this was intended to be the "twist", the storytellers would not have Jane's face be so obviously shown in that opening scene. This is where most people are wrong. Furthermore there was plenty of dialogue through the movie that slowly but assuredly reveal and reaffirm this plot point. Also the fact that he/she is the fizzle bomber is not surprising, but it was not meant to be surprising. That wasn't the payoff.

The "twist" was when Jane's surgeon explained to her after the Cesarean that she is a hermaphrodite (which is a REAL medical condition, so no the plot is not ridiculous). That was the climatic moment of the film, the "OMG" moment. It was a gut wrenching scene, one that Sarah Snook did an amazing job in, along with the subsequent scene when she was learning to change her voice and realized she could no longer call herself by her name Jane. What a performance. On first viewing of this film, no one, and I mean NO ONE, could've foresaw that coming. That is the twist, the ingredient, that sets this time travel movie apart from all others and actually makes it work. As Robertson explained to the Bartender, he is special, he is nature's anomaly that enables him uniquely suited for time travel. He has "no ancestry" or more precisely a circular ancestry. He is his/her own father/mother/child/grandparent. His whole life, every action taken, was predestined. In a sense his existence ensured there would be no time travel "grandfather" paradox. No Marty McFly changing his timeline here! And that is why he is so valued by Robertson and the Bureau.

While that was the most important twist in the story, there are 3 others: 1. When we see Jane's lover is herself in 1963, 2. When the Bartender traveled back in time to kidnap the baby to complete the temporal loop, and 3. When the temporal field kit suffered a seemingly unfortunate error/ "malfunction" and couldn't decommission. For those who are paying close attention, this was not an accident. This was in fact Robertson sending the Bartender on a final (FINAL but illegal) mission which is why Robertson left him the note "trace the timer". One could even take it a step further and suggest that Robertson knew all along that John is the Fizzle bomber, but that his "terrorist" acts are just the lesser of two evils, consequences that actually prevented even bigger tragedies and overall saving more lives than taken.

Again this a tremendous, all-time great sci-fi/time travel movie, that has you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Screenplay, acting, directing, an amazing tour de force. Go see it again and again, I know I will.

The one of a kind thriller is destined to make a mark. It is not only entertaining in its own right but pretty sets the bar for the ultimate trans-gender film, the ultimate time travel paradox story, and the ultimate riff on a popular insult which suggests that the target of the insult perform an un-natural act...

Sarah Snook is astonishing. I need to use a thesaurus to find a better word. When you consider that they given Oscar nominations to films like TOOTSIE, you have to wonder what this performance is worth? Because her performance here is in a class by itself, so engaging, so empathetic, that the viewer would like to have lunch with both characters at the same time, if such a thing were possible.

The Spierig Brothers deserve additional praise not only for handling this so well but you have to realize how much backstory and exposition they crammed into the first 30 minutes. Most film-makers would have choked on this but because of the aforementioned Ms. Snook, the film takes flight and soars. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

This is not just classic sci-fi it is almost a classic Greek play: Fateful and tragic. That's the parting feeling. But it delivers so many genres on any level you care to enjoy it. To me the strength of this film is the characters—every day people like ourselves—seeing themselves in an extraordinary light. As time-travel stories go there are none of the paradoxes of other such films to frustrate you. The elegant, thought-provoking symmetry of the original short story is respected beautifully—but hats off to the directors for expanding it into a study of human self-identity. In my opinion the best sci-fi only uses fantasy (within the realms of possibility) to explore humanity in ways that a grounding in known reality cannot, and this film offers viewers a 'what if' so believably presented they can put themselves in that situation and question themselves in a way they normally never would. The only paradox here is the very real inescapable self of all of us and yet being so many different people throughout our lives. You will benefit from seeing this film.

***FULL SPOILERS AHEAD*** The plot of "Predestination" goes like this: An older John/Jane leaves himself/herself as a baby in 1945 at an orphanage, so he can become Jane who later circa 1963 will fall in love with ...herself as a time-traveler man and become pregnant with ...himself/herself and the baby is actually himself/herself that eventually will carried to the orphanage by the older version of himself/herself that I mention at the beginning!!!!! Oh! There is also a serial bomber who is...(again) himself/herself that works basically as an excuse for a facial reconstruction of John/Jane so some of the less suspected audience to not realize that ALL these characters are the exact same person right from the start.

OK! This movie tries to exploit the idea of time traveling in the most ridiculous way possible. It also adds to the mix the simplistic urban dilemma "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" if you are willing to search for the initial event in this totally messed-up premise.

The writers/directors Spierig brothers are NOTHING like the Wachowskis (Matrix trilogy) and this plot is absurd even for the most well-intended sci-fi fans.

But there are even more problems with "Predestination".

The movie despite its relatively short length (around 90min) is boring. The narration lacks rhythm and its progression is abrupt so you catch yourself imagining 100 different (and more plausible) ways for this to evolve. Soon though, mainly because the key characters have their faces hidden, you starting to realize that the writers went for the full "surprise": i.e. All the characters are the same person. Ethan Hawke is the girl, the man, the baby and the bomber! 5 for the price of 1. (or 2 because John/Jane is also represented by Sarah Snook).

Overall, don't be fooled by some critics. This isn't a good movie. It's not entertaining and it's not "mind-blowing" because you can suspect what is happening after the first 15-20 minutes.

There is no deeper meaning either. You can conclude that because the writers ended the movie right after the final "revelation" so to speak. That final "surprise" (5 = 1) it was all they intended for.

So this movie has been on my watch list forever because someone told me it was worth watching. Somehow I avoided spoilers and went into it literally knowing nothing about it. And the first 5 or 10 minutes of film are pretty good. You get action and it gets you pumped up but goes nowhere because the movie is more or less just about the stupid twist you that you end up guessing within at least 30 minutes into the film. And that is the biggest problem with the film, it becomes so about the twist and tries to justify and hide the twist and it is annoying. The worst kind of twist is the one you see coming. If the film focused more on the event or "person" they're trying to stop and less on the lead character(s) of the film, it would have been better. It is the type of movie you start playing in the background while you're surfing the net or doing something else. Anyway, overall the film is boring as all Hell and the performances by Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook are wasted. Maybe they had to make it boring as all sh!t just to keep the budget down? Who knows who cares. The first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of the movie are the only reason I'm even giving it a 6 out of ten.

Well this is kind of ffed up. I love Sarah Coleman but boy was she wasted in this. It was so obvious from the start. The only thing that was kind of "surprising" was that the baby was her all along. Which again is ew. Did I just miss the plot? Anyway, I did not like this movie at all which my boyfriend made me watch (he agreed to watch Star Wars for this so maybe it wasn't a total waste?). He said it is better than Interstellar and Inception. Now I will need to breakup with him.

Brilliant. Thought-provoking mind bending brilliance. Coming under the radar and screening on Tuesday night as part of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival schedule, Predestination stars Ethan Hawke (Sinister) in a film that caught us off guard and sent us home with the reality of just witnessing one of the best films of the year. Ethan Hawke plays a character without name who is a time-travelling agent for a secret agency that uses their ability to transport to specific dates as an opportunity to stop crime. Hawkes character (known as The Bartender) is on the tail end of his career. And on his final assignment, he is tasked with stopping the "Fizzle Bomber", a terrorist that exploded a bomb in New York City in 1975 that killed over 11,000 citizens. The bartender had a chance to stop the bomber once before but failed and now after a recuperating after his final jump, he jumps from 1960's through the 70's, 80's and 90's to achieve his final objective. The time travel machine used to jump is basic and brilliant in its simplicity – a violin case where the adjustment of the numbered and lettered locking mechanism determines the date to which one will travel. It is during an early jump that Hawkes character finds himself in the 1960's acting as a bartender in a small dive bar. It's here where he meets the character played by Sarah Snook (again, no name is given for the character just the description "The Unmarried Mother"). The two main characters begin a conversation that is part Tarantino part Mamet in its delivery and genius. The Unmarried Mother begins to weave a tale so unbelievable that it's mesmerizing to hear it unravel. The bartender does not seem as overly surprised at the details and at the conclusion of the anguishing story, he offers the Unmarried Mother an opportunity to go back in time to face the person which caused her such grief. The time jump of the two characters sets the timeline path for a story that goes in directions that will be completely unseen. By the time the Unmarried Mother meets her oppressor and the Bartender confronts the Fizzle Bomber the directing duo of the of Spierig Brothers (Peter and Michael) have laid out a complex plot of intersecting stories best described as a "snake eating its own tail." Ethan Hawke has worked with the Spierig Brothers before with 2009's Daybreakers which this reviewer thought was a well above average tale of vampires in a futuristic world. But with Predestination the collaborative efforts of the brothers and Hawke have created a brilliant time travel science fiction film that betters Rian Johnson's Looper in its vision and execution. Predestination is a movie where washroom breaks are not recommended. Every detail of the story circles back to the wonderful final reveal. It's a film that commands attention and then rewards the viewer for the courtesy. When the year finally comes to a close, we will have screened over 200 films released in 2014. Predestination is sure to be on our list of Top 10 when the tallies are constructed.

The Golden Age of science fiction (1930s-1950s) was responsible for hundreds of audacious novels and short-stories, most of which toyed heavily with narrative conventions. Case in point "All You Zombies" (1958), a short story by Robert Heinlein which dealt with the events leading to a human being simultaneously becoming its own mother, father, son and daughter. Yes, you read that correctly.

"All You Zombies" revolved around a character who was born with both male and female reproductive organs. Via a convoluted time-travel plot, this character manages to have sex with him/herself and give birth to him/herself. By the story's end, all of Heinlein's major characters are then revealed to be the same person at different stages of his/her life.

Directors Michael and Peter Spierig adapted "All You Zombies" in 2014. Though given a new, dull title - "Predestination" - the film captures well the tempo, tone and qualities of 1950s science fiction short-stories. There are no big action sequences here, no major special effects, just lots of weird twists and playful tale-telling. Throw in the coolest time-machine since "The Terminator", strong performances by Sarah Snook and Ethan Hawke, and you have a fine film.

The Golden Age of science fiction is now almost a century in our past. Despite this, the era's level of formal experimentation still surpasses most of what contemporary cinema deems "revolutionary". "Predestination", though, surpasses its source material in one respect. Heinlein's original tale used sexuality as a gimmick; a means to an end (how does one get a child to produce itself?). The Spierig's, though, thanks largely to a touching performance by Sarah Snook, have made a film that sympathises with those deemed "sexually abnormal". Their convoluted plot encapsulates the feelings and anxieties of a character whose very identity, sense of history and self (and so self-worth) has been warped. This is a character who feels abandoned, unloved, and whose only hope of intimacy is to quite literally go back in time and love him/herself.

7.9/10 – Worth one viewing. Heinlein would revisit similar material in 1970's "I Will Fear No Evil", in which a white billionaire has his brain implanted into the brain of a black women whom he then impregnates with his own frozen sperm. Seriously.

There are to many practical reasons why this time travel film does not make sense. I'm not an expert in time travel. However, there are paradoxes for sure. The film even admits it in the scene where the fizzle bomber meets himself. On top of everything the true confessions writer/reader impregnates herself? Did I get that right? Well then how could he not have known that while telling the story at the bar. How are they two different people. The idea really starts to hurt your head if you think on it awhile. Everyone is sitting around writing about how this is inception level movie making when we all know that Inception is miles ahead of this film in its plot. I do not see the hype in this particular movie (predestination), but it is worth a watch and I almost gave it a 7, but again, the time travel paradoxes kind of ruin the logic of the movie.

If Robert A Heinlein and his wife Virginia had lived to see this, they would have been more than pleased. They would have sat there with jaw agape at how perfectly this film follows every detail of the story it is based upon.

I heard about this project a few months ago in a Reddit board. Whenever I hear about my favorite books or stories being made into Film, I always wonder how much they will muck it up. In the case of this, the source matériel is so unusual that I knew that regardless of who made this film, I would be seeing "All you Zombies".

Of course, anyone who has read "All You Zombies" - The Short (very short) story by The Dean of Science Fiction, would have every detail of it memorized. It's one of those stories you have to read, and then read again, and then wonder what the blazes you have read, so you read it again. This is one of those stories that you have to read maybe 50 timers before you really understand what's being said.

Because there is no "Unwed Mother", there is no "Bartender" and there is no "Fizzle Bomber", at least not as individual people. And there never was a baby dropped off at the steps of an orphanage in 1945. And John Never met Jane. And most important, the Chicken never laid the egg that grew back up into the Chicken.

Of course, that "Chicken" would have also have to have been 1/2 Rooster. But that is Heinlien's Handywork for you, his twisted humor, which he revisits in his last four books from "The Number of the Beast" to "To Sail Beyond the Sunset"- All of which deal with Time Travel and Alternate Universes.

This is a story that takes time and tosses it into a blender and re- shapes it, but where other Time Travel paradox stories fail is where 'All you Zombies" is a perfect circle, we can see the clear direction of Time's Arrow.

Speaking of which, the story which comes closest to Predestination's planned perfection is Star Trek's "Times Arrow" two parter which spans from 1890's San Francisco to the planet Dividia II in the 24th Century- Beginning and ending with Data's Head. But where some of these Time Tales revolve around an "Altered Timeline", this one has none of that- It's all the same Timeline, the time-line of a single individual.

But this story can never go past the 50 year mark - 50 years from when time travel had been "stitched" out, in either direction. Because just like Heinlein's very first published story "LifeLine", this is all told from within the life span of one person.

In a way, John and Jane's story is the story of every man or woman on Earth, but In John's case, he actually was "his own grandpa".

I have read All You Zombies at least a hundred times, I know every facet of this story. And whoever "The Spierig Brothers" are, they not only created this perfect rendition of the story, even doing much of the special effects and music - But on top of that, they UNDERSTOOD exactly what Heinlein was saying, and so there is not one idle phrase from the story that is not represented here, in this visual retelling.

I have been waiting for this story to be made into a film all of my life, and I for one am in no way disappointed with any part of it - The story is recanted by Jane/John to "The Bartender" just like the written story, and the events of John's story match every detail of the original short story.

There are some things that go a little further than the story, like this stuff about a "Fizzle Bomber", And I think it was a logical way to include the Ending of the story - Because the short story only has the Beginning and the Middle and then the beginning again, so the added material actually provides the end of the Ouruboros' tail- The snake that eats it's own tail.

It's just another Brief History of Time, but in this case it tells a remarkable and fascinating story.

At best this movie is a concept which thinks it is clever but ultimately fails to deliver for trying too hard to be clever.

So the lead character goes back in time to convince their earlier self to go back in time to connect with their former self which results in the birth of their self which is then kidnapped by their future self in order to fulfil a time-line to try to stop a mass murderer who also happens to be..... Yup you've guessed it!

So basically at any point in the film they could have resolved the main plot at any point and resolved the needless deaths of innocents & the troublesome life that awaited them (over & over) if they just stopped rather than prattling on about the idea's of the 'chicken & egg' or the Ouroboros (snake eating its tail)

The only Ouroboros this film delivers is one's head being stuck up its own backside.