Who's In It?

Kevin Spacey is Prot, Jeff Bridges is Dr. Mark Powell with Alfre Woodard and Mary McCormack 

Who Made It?

Iain Softley

Where's The Web site?
No Site Currently Available

What's It About?

In the middle of Grand Central Station on a normal day, Prot (Spacey) arrives in New York City.  He doesn't make a spectacle of himself, he just walks around and in fact tries to help the victim of a mugging.  Of course given that he was there and talks a bit crazy, they cart him off to a mental hospital.  Is he crazy?  We don't know if he's crazy, an alien, or something else.

At the hospital we meet Dr. Mark Powell (Bridges).  It's his job to figure out who or what Prot is.  But what he finds out, is that a seemingly easy conclusion of a delusional patient doesn't make as much sense as some would be led to believe.  You see after a number of sessions and talks with peers Dr. Powell is just not sure who or what Prot is.  Prot gives a very convincing definition of the planet K-Pax.  The question is will Dr. Powell believe he is from K-Pax, and maybe a better question is what will you believe?

Common Guy's Thoughts

K-Pax is a very standard but amusing story.  The story we are given is the classic tale of who really is Prot.  Is he good or bad, human or alien, friend or foe.  For the purposes of this film we deal with mainly if he is human or from another planet, and it works.

We focus on the stars of this film as they are some of the best in the business today.  This film revolves around the relationship between Spacey and Bridges.  Spacey starts off kind of awkward in the strange, yet kindhearted Prot.  We almost feel that Spacey is a bit disjointed as the strange man.  But after awhile, Spacey's portrayal of the oddly lovable Prot grows on you.  You can't help but feel the confusion that Spacey's character feels.

Bridges adds a bit of confusion to the mix as well with his portrayal of the conflicted and sometimes baffled Dr. Powell.  He is interesting to watch, as with most of his films, as he tries to decipher the things that Prot is telling him while racing against the clock.  Bridges is always interesting to watch onscreen and this time is no exception.

This film also has a nice supporting cast with Mary McCormack as Bridges' wife and a much too small role for the extremely talented Alfre Woodard.  This is one of the story films that are out in the marketplace and it needs the talents of all of these extremely talented actors to get where it goes. 

Sure, there are plot holes in K-Pax and other problems with the film.  This is, however, one of those films that you just kind of ignore the minor problems, relax and go with it.  K-Pax will make you reevaluate a lot of what you do everyday.  I enjoyed K-Pax.  It's far from the perfect film, but you will enjoy it.  Don't leave during the credits as we get one final look at Dr. Powell, and it may help you answer the question of who Prot really is, at least as far as he is concerned.

Grade

B

Parents Guide

Rated PG-13 for a sequence of violent images, and brief language and sensuality.  Overall, this film is not too awful bad for most teens, however I sense there will be a real lack of interest in the want to see for teens.  This film doesn't have a number of objectionable items in it, the violent images are not too graphic but do leave a strange taste in your mouth.  I can't say that this is anything more than a soft PG-13. 
 

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