Review of Memento (2000) by Aaron A — 04 Feb 2013

Supposed masterpiece about a guy who brandishes himself with hundreds of tattoos to combat short-term memory loss after his wife gets killed by someone (YAWN!). Aggravating thriller relies almost entirely on its central gimmick: the movie is told backwards, which only comes off as a desperate attempt to disguise how shallow and tedious the story is.

Pierce's character is such a creepy cypher that we generate absolutely no sympathy for him; Nolan's attempts at modern noir are misguided and moronic, to say the least. Arguably one of the most pathetic attempts at originality with atrocious editing and ugly cinematography; only massive boredom is generated.

Some have said the second viewing is better than the first; the second viewing only made me want to destroy the DVD and throw it in the garbage can where it belongs. Seriously, this movie pissed me off and every single 5-star review out there isn't enough for me to give it a chance a third time.

Since so many people seem to love this movie, I know I'm going to get ridiculous backlash: I've seen thousands movies and this one is one of the most unmemorable I've ever fucking seen. Ever! And I'm not a Nolan-hater: his previous film, FOLLOWING, is over a hundred times better.