Robert Zemeckis' "Here": A Tech-Driven Trip Through Time That Misses the Mark
"Here": A Novel Idea, a Messy Execution
Robert Zemeckis' new film, "Here," isn't your typical movie. It’s based on Richard McGuire's graphic novel of the same name; an unusual choice and it adapts its unique style of storytelling very interestingly, yet in completely unexpected ways. Instead of a regular story; this film presents an idea; the idea of time’s relentless march through a single location and the myriad lives and moments contained therein and its unusual structure attempts to explore how this affects the lives portrayed throughout this very particular family's extended timeline. This whole concept of examining different points and timelines is unique and a potentially creative and moving endeavor – showcasing what the limitations and failures truly meant here, it becomes evident in what was actually delivered here; many moments would never work, making its shortcomings rather prominent and quite obvious upon its initial showing to viewers.
The film follows multiple generations and the house they inhabit in several eras, all shown through the unchanging perspective of a fixed camera. But the core issues appear relatively early in that setup: Its de-aging tech looks completely unnatural and that alone detracts substantially from the story. That’s really unfortunate because we're promised big emotional payoffs concerning this house’s own rich, shared human history. Instead of actually capturing the very thing this unusual project initially promised– instead of experiencing genuine emotions concerning its characters; audiences primarily see various poorly executed visual effects which serve as nothing other than distractions, further harmed by various poorly written moments which further reduce that promised impact. And given the star power of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, the entire enterprise should be vastly better – showing why poor production choices ultimately lead to those kinds of poor ratings noted by critics and what those missed chances actually meant here. We need more interesting storytelling, a very large aspect and one of many flaws which will be further emphasized further in this article.
A Static Camera and Unconvincing De-aging
The film uses a stationary camera, mimicking McGuire's graphic novel. That choice worked reasonably well in that context: it was static in that medium. But Zemeckis' film makes that exact same approach incredibly problematic and something that will become easily seen. That decision constricts the storytelling. The technical marvel– de-aging Hanks and Wright via AI — actually alienates the audience. While the technology might’ve advanced, that uncanny valley, the slight glitches, makes those moments entirely distracting. It just wasn't convincing. These actors look way too obviously fake, making these instances rather unpleasant, almost upsetting in some particularly specific cases and these detract deeply from an otherwise unique, possibly well-intended creative design attempt!
Relatable, Yes, but Ultimately Boring
The film's premise promises deep emotion— tracing various families throughout that house and seeing a century plus of change. Yet these events transpire as a sequence of events, one following the other. Each individual storyline felt rather thin. While we see those significant moments, those things you’d expect (birth, death, love, loss), they felt extremely predictable, almost completely cliché-ridden and without unique storytelling approaches. The score, despite being handled by Alan Silvestri (another Forrest Gump veteran), really can’t salvage that issue; attempting to add emotional beats only makes that issue even more prominent because it's far, far too apparent for everyone viewing. The various relationships shown remained somewhat emotionally thin: even the characters aren’t developed enough which made that entire undertaking somewhat uninspired.
THere’s also this odd feel to how the timeline and its storytelling worked; the episodic structure doesn’t really create the impact one might desire: this was a missed opportunity to use a unique style, instead making use of generic events within an even more constrained approach; leading to its various issues which could have all been fixed!
Zemeckis' Tech Obsession Overshadows the Human Story
Zemeckis is known for pushing technical boundaries (remember Back to the Future?). But in "Here," that same innovation overshadowed everything else entirely! That focus became apparent; the obsession around those visual technological effects overshadowing human storytelling. It seems like he might've become far more captivated by exploring what he can do visually; thus sacrificing that ability to use and develop those deep, resonant human emotions his stories usually brought and which helped create that uniquely memorable experiences in his other well-loved movies.
Conclusion: "Here" Remains a Missed Opportunity for Zemeckis
"Here" is a flawed experiment! It’s technically ambitious– the unusual stationary camerawork along with other visual efforts intended for de-aging the cast– those visuals could be deemed innovative – however, what it failed to convey is any genuine emotional experience! This misses its mark; the central concept remains an interesting but entirely unfulfilled promise. Despite Hanks and Wright’s considerable talent; those emotional beats aren’t fully developed and this poor decision affects every attempt to create deep emotion throughout. If the technical aspects didn’t overwhelm that potential for creating emotional impact; the unusual creative execution could’ve greatly surpassed whatever expectations may have been placed; demonstrating why the use of innovation itself would require greater storytelling mastery to make its execution effective. A bold attempt but that fell flat largely due to those poor directorial choices.
