Trap (M.Night Shyamalan)

JP Liz V1

M. Night Shayamalan latest film Trap features daughter Saleka Shyamalan as a pop star and expect a twist

Trap will be in cinemas from the 9th of August

https://youtu.be/Fin_5EdUoMk

dalyboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058347514/trap-m-night-shyamalan

after the last few miserable efforts my M - Knight I’ve completely given up on anything connected to his name tbh

sydthebeat

"expect a twist"

😁

Osmosis Jones

I've been out on M Night for a long time but I'll give this one a go, just a very good premise for the kind of movies he makes.

speedboatchase

Excellent trailer

Kingslayer

I think I can guess the twist but I won't spoil it.

p to the e

..

JP Liz V1

I'm seeing Liam Neeson in Josh Hartnett, Taken vibes

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122038354#Comment_122038354

Go on. What do you think it is. You're not ruining anything, cause it's just speculation.

Looks like an interesting movie.

The Golden Miller

I like anything he does, so will be watching it. And now with his daughter, completely copying the formula, we'll have twice as many movies of this ilk.

larchielads

i dont think hartnetts the bad guy, i think hes trapping the real bad guy

johnny_ultimate

Thought this was a real mess, frankly. I'd love for Shyamalan to be making certified bangers, and thought Old - though flawed - was moving in the right direction (I was less impressed with the wildly uneven Knock at the Cabin). But this was just haphazard. The screenplay is terrible - the dialogue clunky for sure, but the absurd ends it goes to to make these situations make sense just kills any tension and momentum. Those speculating on "the patented Shyamalan twist" above may be in for disappointment, as this is more focused on a few narrative, momentum-shifting turning points where it shifts perspective or gears as opposed to some big, overarching 'gotcha'. But that kinda got exhausting for me, and it loses focus of the silly but fun central premise well, well before it needs to. Shyamalan is a strong visual director and there are some clever shots and framing ideas here and there, but it again falls short of even his two other recent films in that regard.

Hartnett has fun hamming it up, though the script is inelegant in how it handles the various inflection points in his character. Saleka Night Shyamalan does a really convincing job when on the in-film stage as a popstar, but when her character becomes more embroiled in the story, sadly her lack of acting experience is very apparent (not helped by the aforementioned clunky dialogue).

Just not great at all, really. I've seen quite a few praise it more as a fun comic thriller rather than an edge of your seat one, but really I don't think it really works on that level either. It's just all ham-fisted and clunky.

ancapailldorcha

I liked it. It's very enjoyable with a few rough edges that challenge one's ability to suspend disbelief. It doesn't feel like a typical Shyamalan offering so maybe that's the real twist? I'd recommend it as a good bit of fun.

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122491515#Comment_122491515

That idea has already been batted about for Knock at the Cabin - that the real twist is that there is no twist.

I guess its difficult to come with these ground-breaking twists for every movie. I think it is impossible to beat the ending of The Sixth Sense. That was remarkable.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing Trap. Seems entertaining anyway.

hynesie08

Second half is infinitely better than the first half, and josh hartnett takes the absolute piss, but overall disappointing.

Stephen_Maturin

Wanted so badly to like this but, it was crap. Pure shité even.

RobbingBandit

Josh Hartnett now and forever a hero for Lucky Number Slevin, going to try see this tomorrow afternoon

paddyisreal

Probably the worst film I've seen in a long long long long time. Woeful

Mr E

Saw it last night. I'd give it a C+.

I preferred the first half to the second half. The second half just went off the rails and got very silly.

Was it a nepotistic way of launching a music career for Saleka Shyamalan?

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122038354#Comment_122038354

It's not Earth? You think its the past but actually it's the future? Josh Hartnett is his own brother??

Hande hoche!

Middling enough effort, imagine it will do well on a streaming service down the line. Found it to drag a bit after Harnett's character went into the dressing room onward. Saleka Shyamalan is fairly dire, the scenes she is involved in are a chore.

muloc

Awful crap. Avoid

ECookie13

Terrible film. Second half droned on for what felt like an eternity and the singer actress was shockingly bad.

Man Vs ManUre

Watched this last night, average enough, it reminders me of Snake Eyes but not as good. Tho good performances from Hartnett and Shamalyna.

JP Liz V1

I thought the wife was part of The Butcher 🙈

Hartnett was good, Nic Cage hamming it up, Joker style but a good lead

I'm glad we got the end scene of the merchandise dude seeing Cooper on tv

Irish Aris

Saw it today and wasn't particularly impressed. I think Shyamalan is rather limited as a storyteller. He often has interesting starting points for his stories, but his screenplays are mostly hit and miss - here more miss than hit. There are some good scenes showing the obsession of young people with pop stars, that was the most interesting aspect for me. Dialogue is dire for the most part, and that IMO affected the performances - including Josh Hartnett, who I found just OK.

I was looking at Shyamalan's filmography to confirm that he always directs his own stories. It would be intriguing to see the results if someone were to polish his stories, because looking at his filmography, one could argue that there are a few "happy accidents" and quite a bit of mediocrity.

Having said all that, I'll probably still keep him on my radar.

Charlie19

This is ones a bit a like Bovril.

I must admit that I enjoyed it, I did think on a few occasions Ah come on Wtf but you have to remember it is a movie after all.

AMKC

Just seen this. So bad. What an absolutely Rubbish film and yes that is Rubbish with a capital R.

I would give it 0 out of 10.

Don't waste two+ hours of your life watching this Trash.

richbo

First 30 minutes not bad. Dreadful after that. I had high hopes for this after watching the trailer but this movie is as bad as The Happening. My teenage kids thought it was laughable.

flasher0030

I thought it was ok. The first hour is good and suspenseful in terms of trying to figure out where the movie is going to go. But there is a very obvious change in pace and tone leading in to the last 45 minutes. That is feels a bit strange and a bit off. It had a decent idea, but it went off on a tangent. And having the singer girl as a prominent role for the latter part of the movie didn't work for me.

Agent Coulson

As someone else pointed out above Shyamalan has some soild ideas for stories and opening for his movies are mostly good but he usually loses it in the middle and can't stick and ending now.

JP Liz V1

I think imho it would have been all set at the concert

Basq

I wasn't expecting a lot so the first hour was entertaining shlock.. Hartnett hamming it up nicely!

But the last 40 minutes was absolutely dreadful!

Overall, felt like not much more than a vehicle to bolster Shyamalan's daughter career.. both her music or acting ability was not exactly memorable.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122575375#Comment_122575375

You would think that after all the criticism around Lady in the Water and his own notions that he wouldn’t sacrifice his career again to give his daughter a boost.

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122571449#Comment_122571449

I meant to add better if just set there

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122576070#Comment_122576070

Here’s the thing though. Shyamalan has developed a rare production model where he can make films he wants to make relatively cheaply and independently (almost entirely self-funded AFAIK), get near guaranteed distribution from a major studio, and is all but guaranteed to make his own money back within a week or two of release. There’s nobody operating on quite the same level. We don't have to like the films - I certainly didn’t like this one - but I have to give him credit for what he has built for himself, and think we’d generally be better of if more Hollywood productions were so sustainably and modestly produced. And if he wants to use his film to promote his own daughter’s music (and get the chance to collaborate with her for a few weeks / months), well he’s built a model that allows for it, because basically he’s paying for it all himself.

wangchung

Absolute rubbish. Do not spend a minute watching it

Necro

Quite enjoyed the first half myself. Went off the rails after the concert which is a shame. Unique idea for a movie at least, just not pulled off very well.

El Duda

Trap – 5/10

There are few things to admire here. The main one being Josh Hartnett’s performance. He is having the time of his life in this role and there’s a lovely knowingness to his dialled-up performance. In some scenes he talks directly into the camera like a sinister version of Peep Show which is very enjoyable.

The other thing I liked was the recreation of a teeny girl Taylor Swifty Ariana Grande-y pop concert. They wrote and performed 14 original tracks especially for this film and they nailed the cheap disposable pop song schtick to a tee. They could have all been genuine pop songs and I’d have been none the wiser. It was also shot by the same DP that did another hit 2024 film in Challengers and it looks terrific.

Sadly, that’s about as far as my admiration goes. After they leave the concert, it loses its way and doesn’t really hang together as a coherent narrative. It doesn’t help that with M. Night films you’re always expecting some big stupid twist, which doesn’t really happen here. So, all of the daft theories I was conjuring up came to nothing.

Not at the same level as his greatest film of recent times, Old.

expectationlost

did Hartnett think he was in the smile movie at the end

RoTelly

The twist wasn't great as there was no real lead up to it.

Also the name of the movie is Trap about a forensic physiologist/profiler making up a plan to capture a serial killer. And to give you a connection to Haley Mills the Profiler… Haley Mills The Parent Trap …. Trap … a Parent?

Potential spoiler

Spoiler Warning

(Also the trailer leads you in a different direction, it suggests the concert is planned by law enforcement I don't think this is stated in the movie, is it even hinted at?)

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122635679#Comment_122635679

What twist? It seemed just a straight-forward thriller type movie to me. Albeit, without the thrills.

I thought that was one of the surprises about this movie - that it was a Shyamalan movie, but without any twist. Maybe that's the twist !!!!

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122635739#Comment_122635739

Spoiler Warning

I think the idea that the wife ratted him out, is a suggestion of the twist, but as there is no lead into this, also the idea that the trailer put out that the concert was set up by the FBI suggests that they were tracking him from the start, but this doesn't play out in the film.

Yeah it was a very dull film the whole way through.

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122635830#Comment_122635830

Doesn't go down as his finest moment alright. But I did enjoy the first hour - to set up the anticipation of where was the storyline going to go. But then it just went ar$eways when the singer decided she was going to accompany them into the house. It's a movie that I will not be revisiting ever again.

Going off topic a little, but I think the two movies that I haven't seen by this director are Glass and Old.

I know Glass is part of the trilogy. I've seen the first 2 (Unbreakable and Split), and I thought they were good. But just didn't settle into Glass yet - put of by the negative reviews. I will watch Old soon though.

My question is - are Glass and Old worth watching?

johnny_ultimate

Old was my favourite of the recent batch of Shyamalan films. Hardly perfect, but it was weird and intriguing enough for me to more easily overlook its shortcomings - much more so than Knock at the Cabin IMO.

Homelander

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122567764#Comment_122567764

I actually couldn't agree more with this - it's just a shockingly bad film with bad acting, stilted, unrealistic dialogue, and a plot that relies heavily on lazy convenience after lazy convenience.

First 45 minutes was genuinely fairly good. The second half undid everything.

I mean I wouldn't give it 0/10 but it most definitely was rubbish with a hard, capital R.

Old was plagued with the same problems this is, eg hammy acting and bad dialogue, but at least Old had an interesting premise, some decent twists, a a great sense of mystery and intrigue throughout.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122641504#Comment_122641504

I agree with most of this, I thought it was a very decent premise, but goes downhill very badly quickly.

The acting....

Josh Hartnett does do his very best with the lead role, but outside of him, yikes....M Night Shyamalans daughter is absolutely abysmal in the Lady Raven role, distractingly bad. Hayley Mills?!? bizarre casting too. Alison Pill (a very fine actress) does what she can, the daughter was very annoying.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122642645#Comment_122642645

Never rated Hayley Mills as an actress but I thought she did a relatively good job here.

As I say she was chosen because the film is called Trap. She is the lead in a Trap to get a serial killer and she played the two leads in the original Parent Trap film from Disney.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122645450#Comment_122645450

She wasn't in it much to be fair and she wasn't the worst actor in it.

But I thought it was odd casting she is in her late 70s and looked it, that is also a bizarre reason to cast someone tbh.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122647130#Comment_122647130

I though she gave a kind of "Donald Pleasence / Dr. Loomis" role to the film. She has years of experience behind her and can't leave the job and is a highly skill profession that the FBI rely on.

It is, and it might just be a coincidence.

JP Liz V1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122645450#Comment_122645450

I did not make that connection and tbh was surprised to see her in this role