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I’ll give Zemeckis this: whether it’s inserting characters into historical footage in Forrest Gump, melding hand-drawn animations and live-action in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, or pioneering motion capture in The Polar Express, he’s always dared to embrace technology in film. But sometimes, being an early adopter just means using something before it’s ready. Here is a perfect example. Its use of AI-generated de-aging and face-swapping gives the actors an uncanny, shiny look that’s often discomforting. Worse, there are split seconds where you can see the AI fail to superimpose Tom Hanks’ younger face properly, creating a fuzzy, glitchy effect (think Snapchat filters struggling to lock onto a face). Someday, the kinks will be ironed out, but for now, as X-Men Origins: Wolverine,Tron: Legacy, and now, Here, remind us, we’re clearly not there yet (even The Irishman, perhaps the best example of AI de-aging, was far from perfect).
The tech issues might have been forgivable if the story had more to offer, but Here again prioritizes novelty over substance. The concept of following families living in the same place over time from the same angle is interesting, but we don’t spend enough time with any of those families to truly connect with them or care about their lives. Once the initial intrigue wears off, what’s left feels more like a tech demo than a compelling film – a gimmick in search of a story.
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