Time to look at an older film that I hadn’t really heard of before I saw it. The title of the film is interesting as I like movie names that are short and to the point. 1 word can be the best way to go about things, but it isn’t always possible. It’s still neat that this film was able to use such a title and it ended up being pretty good so now I can always think of it when I hear the word Phenomenon. While the alien angle wasn’t played up as much as it could have been, it wasn’t too necessary for the plot progression.

George was just a normal guy who bought a lot of chairs and led an easy life. He got along with everyone and many would probably call it an ideal life back in the day. One day, he sees a UFO, which bestows unlimited knowledge upon him. Well…not unlimited, but he can now use a much greater portion of his brain, which allows him to perform incredible feats. George can learn languages in mere minutes, sense other people by connecting to their brainwaves, and much more. He instantly became the smartest man on the planet by a large margin. Unfortunately, this turns the town against him as well as…the government!

Phenomenon is a very calm film and can also be thought of as a slice of life romance film. George tries to continue living his life like normal, but it quickly becomes impossible for him. The other townsfolk start to become fearful and jealous of his abilities and they all have their own theories about why he has his powers. They continue to pressure him and the only person George can find any peace with it Lace. Lace is a lady that he tried to get friendly with, but she always gave him the cold shoulder. After all, she doesn’t want to get into any complicated affairs at the moment. It’s a very noble sentiment.

That being said, this is a film so the romance ultimately comes about anyway. It certainly wasn’t needed and George should have stayed in the friend zone. Lace wasn’t a bad character and she really tried to make it on her own as she sold her chairs, but it’s just not a great market so it wasn’t her best move. It was a small town as well so there definitely weren’t many potential buyers.

It was fun to see the government get involved even if they were very antagonistic in this film. It’s safe to say that they weren’t too happy about George getting his powers since it meant that he could decipher anything now. They even used him to spy on the US allies. That felt a little unnecessary, but at least the government was tough here. George’s only hope was to use his wits to escape from them and that happens to be his most potent weapon. That being said, he did start it since he cracked their code on live radio.

George was a likable main character. As mentioned earlier, he always meant well and you could tell that he was a nice guy. Once he became a genius, the information did start to make him act a little hyper, probably a side effect of the powers. Still, he managed to keep it in control. One part that was a little iffy was how he tried match maker for his friend. That could have seriously backfired and George put the guy in a tough spot. Still, it all ended well enough, but it was another plot that I could have done without.

The ending is actually a little somber although not quite as somber as it could have been. Originally, I thought that it may have ended with the government kidnapping George. The lead was presumed dead at that point, but he managed to escape later on. Had the film ended like that, it would have definitely been very iffy as the government would have looked pretty sinister. They still planned on doing it, which doesn’t even make that much sense. With George’s great amount of intelligence, they should have just kept him as a secret weapon.

Again, it needs to be stressed that this is essentially a slice of life drama first and foremost. If you’re watching this film for the action scenes or to see some general excitement, this isn’t the film for you. It’s a really dialogue based movie that moves along at a relatively slow pace. So long as the dialogue is good, I’m all set for a movie that’s all about talking and this film did well enough in that aspect.

If it had taken another route, it could have been even better or maybe not as good. For example, the alien route could have been taken as George fights off an invasion. That sounds epic, but we can only guess as to how that would have played out. I’d love to find out, but this version was still fun as well. It’s unfortunate that George couldn’t have a happier ending especially with the “sequel” that came out, but it’s just how it goes sometimes I suppose. At least the dog had a happy ending, which was a very good thing. If he had gotten injured, that would have been no good!

There’s not a whole lot to say about this film besides that. Naturally there are no action scenes or a soundtrack to mention. The villagers are definitely pretty bad and you will feel sorry for George a lot of the time since he can never get any peace. At least they didn’t go over the top like trying to break down his house as I almost expected that towards the end. The film deals with interesting concept like what you would do if you never had to sleep and were a super genius, but not enough so that I need to super analyze it. I do like to think of the possibilities though as I would definitely become a professional gamer and contribute to dozens of sites if I never had to sleep. That concept alone can keep you thinking for hours and hours on end! What would you do with the extra time? Think about it.

Overall, Phenomenon was a good film. It was certainly more enjoyable than I had anticipated. You need to be ready for a slow pace, but I do tend to enjoy those films a lot when they are well made. The characters were likable and even the government got involved! I always get a kick out of that. The villagers were definitely made to be unlikable and gave George a tough time, but at least he still made the most out of his days and didn’t let them get to him all that much. They did to an extent, but at least he always had 2-4 friends who stuck with him. Without them, the film likely would have been a lot more grim and less enjoyable so I’m glad that George had some pals. I definitely recommend this film as it’s very thoughtful and interesting.

Overall 7/10