I reckon it's hot enough in the UK right now to hallucinate. Or just slap on Amazon Prime Video's new no.1 movie instead, and you might think you're seeing things.
Ben Affleck's chart-topper on the streaming service, Hypnotic, was released in 2023 and channels the energy of Inception, Tenet, even Now You See Me to some extent.
It's far from Affleck's highest-rated movie, that's for sure, but it's brilliantly trippy and I thought it was a good dash of fun when I first watched it upon release. Check out the trailer below to see what you make of it:
Hypnotic trailer
What's Hypnotic about?
Affleck plays a detective, Danny Rourke, whose daughter has seemingly vanished – and he blames himself.
While he investigates various bank heists as part of his job, he begins to question the fabric of reality in the way these crimes are being committed.
He ends up working with a fortune-teller, Diana Cruz (Alice Braga), who adds a different perspective – and a lot more reality-bending than he expected.
The crimes seem linked by his daughter's disappearance, but also one man, Dellrayne (William Fichtner), who seems to link together the patchwork of incomprehensible occurances.
Is Hypnotic worth watching?
For all its channelling of classic movies, Hypnotic was ultimately rated as lesser able than its inspirations, netting a mere 32% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Viewers don't quite agree, though, with a score average of 62% on the same site. And some of those verified reviewers are calling it a full 5-star showing.
"It takes you to another place," reads one. Another says that the "good twist" means you've "really got to pay attention to it to understand it".
"I don't understand the bad reviews," reads another, before signing off saying: "I hope it has a part 2." Hypnotic 2? The ratings game won't ever allow it, surely?
But if you like your heist movies to lean into reality-bending trippy sci-fi a touch, then Hypnotic has a lot to grab your attention. It might well grab yours enough to ride out this heatwave...
