"Hypnotic" Movie Review: Ben Affleck's Mind-Bending Thriller with Nolan-esque Vibes

Robert Rodriguez's latest film, Hypnotic, is a pacy, high-concept action thriller that is reasonably engrossing, albeit with a faint whiff of mothballs that betrays its 20-year-old roots. Ben Affleck plays Detective Danny Rourke, who is investigating a series of bank heists and discovers a possible link to the unsolved abduction of his 7-year-old daughter. The film features mind control, a clandestine government operation, and a high-priority Division project involving a hypnotic with powers that make the villain look like an amateur. While the film is watchable enough, it ultimately has the counterfeit feel of a filmmaker dabbling in a genre that's not a natural fit and finding little joy in it.