Phenomenon
Phenomenon
PG | 05 July 1996 (USA)
Phenomenon Trailers

An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.

Reviews
Dorathen Better Late Then Never
TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Tamas Marcuis Bland and derivative. Rehash of dated story line of poor man gets god like powers. There's a 1920's film from Europe practically the same story. This version is over the top pseudo religious crap. The sound of one had clapping type of nonsense that is meant to sound profound.Just go watch toy story it has a deeper moral message.
joshyates1980 "Everything is on it's way to Somewhere" was a wonderful quote from the movie. All three individuals share eating the apple and it becomes part of them...forever.Anyway, the movie was decent. Too much emotional strain on a lot of the characters, but that seems to be typical, modern homo homo sapiens behavior (and Hollywood.) The science talk and science experiments throughout the movie was my favorite, even though there was a non- believable mysterious light that came from the sky and made John T. super smart. The town appears to be very close with one another. The woman John T. displays interest for throughout the movie demonstrates a "hard to get" attitude. That was annoying to watch because women who display that selfish behavior can live alone for the rest of their lives for what it matters. Overall, it was a decent movie.
guillefix Compare this to the new movie Lucy for example.Most movies portray super-intelligent people as being emotionless. Yet this movie shows the opposite. A man suddenly becomes superintelligent, and not only does he not loose his emotions, but they appear to be reinforced. And it's not incompatible at all, his intelligence makes him see more beauty, not less. Of course, he is still able to feel anger, and sadness. He's become more human, not less. I love this movie.I found out about this movie when discussing with some transhumanists (I consider myself one) about the role of emotions in a future with radical intelligence augmentation. I was used to the idea that "emotions" were primitive and such from futuristic Hollywood movies. However, this movie made me realize the importance of emotion, and how naturally they go with intelligence.
classicsoncall They say that the average person only uses about five percent of their available brain power. This film examines what might happen if one were to unleash the remaining ninety five percent. Actually, that could be a very scary thought, as we see what happens to George Malley (John Travolta) when he begins to develop a super-human learning ability and the power of telekinesis. So there's also the fear of the unknown thrown into the mix, as George's friends and neighbors are at first amazed and then wary of George's ability, as if he might possibly turn his powers against them.I generally don't remark on a film's IMDb rating, but this one is bafflingly low at 6.3 as I write this. Travolta and the supporting cast are quite competent in their roles, with Kyra Sedgwick valiantly walking that fine line of guarding against another hurtful relationship balanced against finding that special someone who she can open her heart to once again. For once a film capably tells it's story without resorting to the principals hitting the sack in an obligatory love scene.What I also liked about the film was the way George's true friends stuck by him through thick and thin. Nate (Forest Whitaker) and Doc (Robert Duvall) never wavered in their loyalty even if it meant going against some of the locals who were willing to throw George under the bus. All in all, this was a heartwarming film that tells it's story with a bit of whimsy on it's way to a life affirming message about achieving one's full potential.