Hypnotic (2023)

My Review

“Hypnotic” is a mystery crime movie about a police detective obsessed with finding his missing daughter. He investigates a series of crimes with the help of a psychic, but gets involved in mostly wild-goose chases, getting nowhere fast. This is because director-screenwriter Robert Rodriguez put together an unfocused drama that is billed as a thriller, but is anything but thrilling. The bad writing in the script is hypnotic, but is the kind of hypnosis that puts one to sleep.

The star of the show is Ben Affleck in the lead role. His performance is less than stellar, as in many of his recent movies, with a mediocre supporting cast that includes Alice Braga, J. D. Pardo, Jackie Earle Haley, William Fichtner, Hala Finley, Dayo Okeniyi, and Jeff Fahey. The less than “Hypnotic” was a huge flop at the box office for producer Robert Rodriguez, Ingenious Media, Studio, and the other independents that financed this dud.