Reviewer's Rating 2 out of 5
Dragonfly (2002)
12

Kevin Costner's fortunes took a tumble in 1995 with "Waterworld" and have yet to recover. Whether attempting to widen his range (playing a psychotic Elvis impersonator in "3,000 Miles to Graceland") or harking back to former glories (the "JFK"-style "Thirteen Days"), he can't seem to recapture the alchemy of "The Untouchables" and "Dances With Wolves". His poor run continues with this lacklustre supernatural thriller, which nose-dived at the US box office and will no doubt be as tepidly received over here.

Aspiring to "The Sixth Sense" but ending up closer to "The Mothman Prophecies", "Dragonfly" finds a distinctly flabby Kevin as a Chicago doctor traumatised when his pregnant wife is killed in a bus crash in the Venezuelan jungle. Six months later he's still pretty low, so his boss (Morton) orders him to take some time off - or else.

But then odd things start happening. A paperweight belonging to his late wife - who bore a dragonfly-shaped birthmark on her shoulder - shatters inexplicably; his parrot suddenly attacks him; and his spouse's former patients in the infant oncology ward come back after near-death experiences with messages from beyond the grave. His suspicions confirmed by a Catholic nun (Hunt) with an interest in the paranormal, Kevin jets off to Venezuela to solve the mystery.

Though Tom Shadyac's film kicks off spookily enough, around the halfway mark it takes an abrupt turn into glucose sentimentality and laughable contrivance. Throw in a wooden performance from Costner and the result is something of a near-death experience itself.

End Credits

Director: Tom Shadyac

Writer: Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson, David Seltzer

Stars: Kevin Costner, Joe Morton, Ron Rifkin, Linda Hunt, Susanna Thompson, Kathy Bates

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Length: 104 minutes

Cinema: 07 June 2002

Country: USA

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