Movie-Review: The Man from Earth (verdict: 8.5)
Just once in a while you come across a movie which doesn't need special effects, cgi or a superb soundtrack. It can solely rely on a story. "The Man from Earth" is one of those fascinating movies. A tantalizing story which triggers your imagination and will keep doing so, even weeks later. It surely is not your average SciFi movie, and I even wonder if it can be categorized as such. But boy, can I recommend it if you like to challenge your brain a bit.
I came across this movie and was intrigued by the title, its rating on IMDB and a short excerpt of a user review in which the person in question said it made him a bit like when watching "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". These where enough reasons for me to take the plunge and watch the movie.
The first 15 minutes you (well, at leas I did) feel like: "what the hell is this about?". The movie sure doesn't look like it was made in 2007. But bare with the movie for a minute and you will find it intrigues you in more ways than you can think of. It is kind of hard describing the movie without giving away what the movie is about and where it is heading, so I'll head to describing some things about the characters in the movie.
The thing that balances this movie perfectly is the fact that the main characters can all be considered as experts in their field of work. And because of these expertise (which is not explicitly mentioned in the movie) everything becomes plausible and everything makes sense. Just in moments where you think "ey, what is that about?" it is backed by one of them explaining the ins and outs of it.
When you're 30 minutes into the movie you will be really eager to know how the story will continue and where it will lead to.
I don't want to spoil too much of the movie, but after you have watched the movie, you will surely know you haven't thrown away 90 minutes of your life. I'll bet you will be thinking about the movie for a while and consider the implications of what you have experienced. You won't probably consider "what if this movie was real" but I do know that there will be moments that you will remember about certain aspects of the movie and think "Wow, it could be true.. And what if that was true... Well, then....".
Bottom line:
If you're a movie lover who needs to be entertained by CGI and Action: don't watch this movie
If you like being surprised once in a while, I can highly recommend watching this movie!
Verdict: 8.5