Kenneth Branagh's second work as a director is a very lukewarm effort. The main problem lies with the flawed story but the movie has got a rather cheap and dated look, too.
The script is full of plot holes, forced mysteries, riddles that are thrown in to keep the viewer puzzled but don't really make any sense at all. It also seems rather goofy how quickly the concept of reincarnation and karma is accepted as a fact by virtually everyone in the movie. The relations of the individual characters are also far fetched and don't really make any sense. Up to the showdown with it's unintentionally funny and over the top slow motion ballyhoo, "Dead Again" never manages to grip the viewer. The occasional funny elements don't help, either.
Is this a comedy, a drama, a romance or a mystery? "Dead Again" seems more like a parody at times with it's goofy black and white story lines in the past. It's a failed attempt at paying tribute to Hitchcock and the whole film noir genre. "Dead Again" proved that Branagh might be a master when it comes to bringing Shakespeare to the screen, but he has no idea what mainstream cinema is about.
The script is full of plot holes, forced mysteries, riddles that are thrown in to keep the viewer puzzled but don't really make any sense at all. It also seems rather goofy how quickly the concept of reincarnation and karma is accepted as a fact by virtually everyone in the movie. The relations of the individual characters are also far fetched and don't really make any sense. Up to the showdown with it's unintentionally funny and over the top slow motion ballyhoo, "Dead Again" never manages to grip the viewer. The occasional funny elements don't help, either.
Is this a comedy, a drama, a romance or a mystery? "Dead Again" seems more like a parody at times with it's goofy black and white story lines in the past. It's a failed attempt at paying tribute to Hitchcock and the whole film noir genre. "Dead Again" proved that Branagh might be a master when it comes to bringing Shakespeare to the screen, but he has no idea what mainstream cinema is about.