Stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, with Mary Lynn Rajskub and Kristen Bell Directed by Colin Trevorrow Director Colin Trevorrow was selected to take on the new Jurassic Park movie based on this, his first theatrical feature. It chronicles an investigation by a magazine writer and his interns into an unusual want ad that is looking for a companion; a time travel companion. A line in the ad gives the movie its title: Safety Not Guaranteed. Much of the movie rests on Aubrey Plaza’s somewhat down-trodden intern, Darius, who appears to be jaded at a very young age. She somehow manages to connect with their investigative subject, Kenneth (Mark Duplass), who is fairly paranoid about who answers his ad. The question running through the story is if Kenneth is a paranoid crackpot or did he truly build a time-machine. The chemistry between Duplass and Plaza work well for the story as they slowly warm-up and open-up to each other, and Darius appears to want to believe in Kenneth. A secondary plot revolving around Jeff (Jake Johnson), the writer, feels superfluous as he takes advantage of the assignment to pursue more a personal agenda. The primary plot is what drives the movie and the payoff is what makes the movie work in the end. Trevorrow’s direction builds the story well and he has an eye for some visual flair. There is some decent comic timing from a very game cast although the humour might be of a selective variety. It may play as a comedy or it may play as light drama for some. Still, there is a grand idea at the core of the movie and Trevorrow manages to milk it for its worth. On the whole, It’s an entertaining diversion with an ending that works wonders for the overall movie. It may raise some questions or demands a sequel, but that would diminish the overall effect. On its own, Trevorrow establishes himself as a director of note and it’ll be interesting to see if he has a voice of his own or if he’s simply a director for hire. Rating ***/5
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December 2017
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