Cage Match: Knowing (2009)

Cage battles prophecy, paranoia, and philosophical angst in “Knowing”—a sci-fi thriller that forgets whether it’s preaching or puzzling.

TL;DR: Knowing begins as a compelling puzzle, builds tension beautifully, and then faceplants into a mess of religious metaphors and alien Uber rides. Watch for the plane crash. Stay for the existential despair. But if you’re expecting Cage to go full Cage… you’ll be left behind.

IN THIS CORNER: KELLY MINTZER

The Lowdown 

Here’s the thing about Nicolas Cage: the man has no discernment. He’ll be in good movies! He’ll be in bad movies! And, for me, arguably the worst—he’ll be in forgettable nothing movies. Just how forgettable is Knowing? I thought for sure I’d already sent this review to Steph; I hadn’t even written it. Knowing put me into a fugue state of mediocrity.

The thing is, it’s not an actively BAD movie, though it involves more math than I generally look for in my thrillers. Instead, it’s aggressively, overwhelmingly fine.

I’m not going to get too into the plot because I don’t really remember or care that much about it. I apologize for being so flippant; usually, when a reviewer takes such a cavalier approach, I resent it. I take the Cage Match seriously. I value it. It’s been a hell of an experience. But it’s a really hard movie to get fired up about.

Nic Cage, an astrophysics professor who I would argue gets a little too into philosophical perspectives in his non-philosophy class, discovers that a letter buried in a time capsule provides a roadmap to the major disasters of the last 50 years, and includes indicators of some yet to come. It’s all kind of apocalyptic nonsense and even feels a bit conspiracy theorist—something I might have found more fun before these past several years of extremely deleterious conspiracy theories.

It also isn’t a movie with a light touch; it takes itself deadly seriously. There’s also some stuff about tortured dad Cage in here, but honestly, none of it lands or sticks.

I’m sorry for such an anemic review; it’s just a collection of empty cinematic calories that I’ve almost immediately pooped out.

The Cage Factor:

I don’t know. Rat in a Cage feels too severe, particularly when put up against some of the massive stinkers we’ve watched for this column. So I guess I have to go with Cautious Cage, even though I can’t think of anything, even our guy’s performance, that really makes me recommend this movie. It’s just not egregiously terrible. 

AND IN THIS CORNER: STEPHANIE MALONE

The Lowdown 

Let’s start here: Knowing isn’t a bad movie. At least, not at first. It knows how to open strong. It knows how to creep under your skin. It knows how to film a plane crash that will rattle you to your core.

But somewhere along the way—possibly when Nicolas Cage’s character starts whisper-yelling at mysterious blonde strangers in the woods—Knowing forgets what kind of film it wants to be. Is it a cerebral sci-fi thriller? A disaster movie with apocalyptic flair? A biblical allegory dressed up in alien skin?

The answer is: yes. Unfortunately, all at once, and not very well.

In Knowing, Cage plays John Koestler, a grieving astrophysicist and single dad who finds a note buried in a 50-year-old time capsule that lists every major disaster of the past five decades, along with three still to come. Cue the whispered math, shaky hands, and desperate late-night Googling.

It’s a genuinely compelling premise. A coded mystery. A countdown to doom. Cage in full brooding dad mode.

Director Alex Proyas, known for the dark, atmospheric brilliance of Dark City, deserves praise for crafting an undeniably eerie and unsettling atmosphere. The special effects, particularly the harrowing plane crash and the brutal subway derailment scenes, are exceptionally well-executed and visually impactful.

And for a while, Knowing rides that wave. There’s tension. There’s pacing. There’s philosophical weight. And then… the aliens show up. Maybe angels. Possibly both. The back half of the movie takes a flying leap into metaphysical absurdity, going from “creepy thriller with existential questions” to “Book of Revelation meets Close Encounters” in a matter of minutes. And it wants you to take it very seriously.

Forget the unintentional hilarity of Left Behind; this is a different beast entirely. It’s not unwatchable. In fact, it’s sometimes quite good. It’s just never great. And worse, it’s not nearly bad enough to be fun.

It sits in the uncanny valley of middle-tier sci-fi: too smart to laugh at, too weird to take seriously, and too dull to revisit.

The Cage Factor:

He’s serviceable. He’s sincere. He nails the brooding intensity required of his role. But he’s not exactly memorable.

This film was released during a period where Cage was battling a “straight-to-video” reputation in the long shadow of films like The Wicker Man, Ghost Rider, Next, and Bangkok Dangerous. While some critics at the time might have celebrated how “non-Cagey” his performance felt, Cageophiles will want something meatier to sink their teeth into.

It’s not the kind of role he’s meant for, nor is it the kind of performance that sparks endless discussion or lands on “Best of Cage” lists. Knowing sits awkwardly in his career slump, sandwiched between critically acclaimed work like Adaptation and Lord of War, and his eventual, triumphant resurgence in films like 2013’s Joe (which, trust me, is an extraordinary hidden gem I’ll be gushing about later).

This is the Cage you’d bring home to meet your philosophy professor, not the Cage who’d burn down a cult in a bear suit.