That was a bit too much strawberry jelly on that PB&J, young lady!
Odd Thomas (2013) is one of those movies where a guy finds he has an odd talent and feels constrained to use it, probably for good.
Mostly because he’d otherwise end up dead.
Fortunately, he has a little bit of a sense of humor about it, and, for a change, the cops aren’t after his ass – well, I don’t think so.
In fact, Thomas’ motivations are more believable than those of the bad guys, whoever they might be. Well, the human bad guys. Who seem to have chosen to be bad for random reasons. If that even makes sense. Maybe They found being bad gave them a sense of power, and since it didn’t cost them, er, yeah, this is really the crux of the problem of the story. If you can’t, by the end of a story, state the motivations of the antagonist in short, precise sentences, then you either have a genius story on your hands, or a story with a big hole in it.
Reader, meet hole.
And then there’s the, well, supernatural bad guys. They’re attracted by … we’re not exactly sure. Something to do with the future. Could they be addicts? Could this be a story of how supernatural addicts to future disaster will kill and maim just to ensure they get their weekly entertainment?
If that sounds silly, congratulations. It was silly.
But all that said, I enjoyed Odd Thomas. The critical information is measured out by the teaspoon, not the cup, and the characters on the side of the protagonist feel plausible. The cost to Thomas of being Odd is made apparent, and his reaction to that, admirable.
Add in some believable special effects, and it’s not a bad little movie. It’s not particularly memorable, but it’s a pleasant way to spend an hour and more.
In a slightly gruesome way.
