Review of Flatliners (2017) by Patrick L — 20 Oct 2017

"The original 1990 "Flatliners" wanted to be daring but it dared nothing so why in the world am I talking about this lifeless remake?".

Movie Review: Flatliners.

Date Viewed: October 2 2017.

Directed By Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Worlds Apart, Speed Walking and Dead Man Down).

Written By Ben Ripley, Based on the 1990 film by Peter Filardi.

Starring: Ellen Page, Diego Luna, James Norton, Kiersey Clemons, Nina Dobrev, Beau Mirchoff, Madison Brydges, Miguel Anthony, Jenny Raven and Kiefer Sutherland.

Does anybody remember "Flatliners"? You know that 1990 Joel Schumacher film about five medical students (Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt, William Baldwin and Kevin Bacon) who partake in a dangerous experiment to see what life is like after death? The original film might've been a decent hit at the box office but it wasn't a good movie. It wanted to be daring but it dared nothing so why in the world am I talking about this lifeless remake?

Did anybody asked for a remake to "Flatliners"? I didn't see any message boards or online posts demanding that "Flatliners" should be remade. There have been other pointless remakes or reboots to classic films from the 80's and early 90's like "Conan the Barbarian", "Total Recall", "Red Dawn" and "Clash of the Titans" but the 2017 redux of "Flatliners" has to be the most pointless of them all. The most disappointing aspect of this film is that it was directed by Niels Arden Oplev who helmed the Swedish 2010 version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". The filmmakers led by Oplev and screenwriter Ben Ripley who penned the brilliant sci-fi thriller "Source Code" are even less daring this time around and the five main characters in this film are even less engaging than they were before. Remaking "Flatliners" seemed like a no-win situation for Sony Pictures, if the original movie wasn't any good at all, what makes you think that the remake will be even better?

Just like with the original, "Flatliners" revolves around five medical students, Courtney (Ellen Page), Jamie (James Norton), Sophia (Kiersey Clemons, of "Dope"), Marlo (Nina Dobrev of TV's "The Vampire Diaries") and Ray (Diego Luna of the Star Wars spin-off film "Rogue One") as they participate in a dangerous medical experiment to flatline themselves and see what life is like after death for a short period of time. Courtney really wants to know about the afterlife because she is still haunted by the death of her young sister, Tessa (Madison Brydges). Courtney and Tessa were driving home one day and they got into a horrific car crash which killed Tessa. Since she was using her cellphone at the time of the death, Courtney felt responsible for her death and she hopes to possibly see her in the afterlife when she flatlines herself.

Courtney, Jamie, Marlo and Sophia all agree to partake in the daring experiment but Ray chooses not to flatline himself because he thinks it is too dangerous and they could all be held responsible if one of them dies. Of course when Courtney, Jamie, Marlo and Sophia return from their short trip to the afterlife, they begin having paranormal visions and are forced to confront their sins from the past.

Thanks to poor writing and listless direction, the film has one-dimensional characters and a pure lack of scares. The only actor in this film who's given any development is Diego Luna, he's the smartest and most concerned member of the group who doesn't flatline. Kiefer Sutherland who had a main role in the original is back but this time he plays an old grump professor who has steel-grey hair. I didn't have a near-death experience while watching this movie, I already endured two near-death experiences this year. One was watching "The Emoji Movie" and the other was watching Robert De Niro sing "Makin' Poopie" in "The Comedian".

"Flatliners" (2017) is basically the same mediocre thriller we got back in 1990. It covers no new ground, it just covers "meh".