Flatliners

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, & Kevin Bacon

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

By this point, Flatliners is known as a cult classic and one of the first major roles for Julia Roberts. There was little doubt that the performances in this film would be off the charts good, as for the film itself, not so much. Five Med. students, at the top of their class, decide to experiment with near death experiences to see if there really is an after live, and what they find, was not at all what they expected. The premise of this story is terrific and you couldn't have a better cast or Director, but for me, the film never really clicked. As with sports teams, just because you have the most talent, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to have any chemistry, that was part of the problem here. While all the cast members were terrific in their individual roles, they were so different, that when they got together it didn't really work out so well. As for the movie itself, it has a very unique plot, but the story doesn't do it justice. As a viewer, I was expecting a lot more to happen especially when they keep dialing up the drama. Elements of the story build and build, but ultimately fall flat. The premise was a good one and the performances were terrific, but the story of the flatliners falls well short of expectations. For all you die hard cult followers, don't worry you'll soon have something to complain about too, as a remake for the 25th anniversary of the films release is already in the works.