Premonition Review

My latest Netflix rental was Premonition, starring the almost always likable Sandra Bullock. And that about sums it up -- she was almost likable in Premonition.

First we meet the family of Jim and Linda Hanson (Julian McMahon and Sandra Bullock), which includes two young and pretty daughters. Linda drops them off at school and goes about her usual day of shopping, laundry and simple domestic tasks. The next thing she knows, a policeman arrives at the door to tell her that her husband died the day before. Linda's friends and mother arrive to help her grieve, and Linda does the unthinkable task of telling her children that their father is dead. The next morning, Linda wakes up with her very much alive husband in bed next to her.

This cycle repeats a couple of times -- Linda's husband is dead, then Linda's husband is alive. Which is it? How did her daughter get terrible cuts all over her face? Who was the pretty blonde woman at Jim's funeral? Can Jim's death be somehow avoided?

Parts of Premonition play like a horror film, something like Sixth Sense. Other parts are more thriller-like, as Linda rushes around to gather clues and figure out what's happening. Unfortunately, Sandra Bullock never really seems to inhabit the character of Linda, who is mostly listless and without personality for the entire movie. Julian McMahon as Jim is no better and scenes with the two of them together have no spark at all. Even when she climbs into the shower with him, there's nothing happening -- you'd think a nice kiss and a quick grope between husband and wife would show their fun, sexy side, but there's no such joy in Premonition.

When Linda rushes to save Jim near the end, it got a little more exciting and the action was briefly impressive. Unfortunately, it felt like there was a lot of "going through the motions" to get there. A little more joy would have made me care about Linda and Jim -- Sandra Bullock's likability is not enough to get me interested in their lifeless lives on-screen.

Rated PG-13, Premonition has an unnecessary four-letter word or two, which could easily have been tamed in the script without changing the characters in any way. There was no nudity, although there are scenes of a husband and wife in bed and in the shower. Just don't expect anything resembling action in these scenes.

I don't recommend Premonition. I know that she probably wants to do something other than light comedy all the time, but light comedy is Sandra Bullock's forte. She should stick with it or choose her projects more carefully.