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Avg. Critic Score: 41 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 Iffy for 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Knowing is among the best science-fiction films I've seen -- frightening, suspenseful, intelligent and, when it needs to be, rather awesome. Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    Yes, Knowing is creepy, at least for the first two-thirds or so, in a moderately satisfying, if predictable, way. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Genre fans always looking for something new and awesome may feel like they've seen most of this before, but the conceptual and emotional strength of Summit's Nicolas Cage starrer largely carries the day. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times |

    Whatever else Proyas has done in Knowing, he has created an ending that is sure to divide audiences into camps of love it or hate it, deeming its message either hopeful or hopelessly heavy-handed. For me, it doesn't quite work; still I'm glad he took the risk. Read full review

  • 40
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    The draggy, lurching two hours of Knowing will make you long for the end of the world, even as you worry that there will not be time for all your questions to be answered. Read full review

  • 38
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Starts off mildly ridiculous, ascends to the full-blown ludicrous, and finally sails boldly off the edge of the absolutely preposterous. Read full review

  • 38
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    If you're of a mind to believe a dreary and far-fetched thriller about numerology-crazed alien life forms, then you may find the movie mildly diverting. Read full review

  • 33
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    If you want to know how inept the movie is...well, it's so inept that you may wish you were watching an M. Night Shyamalan version of the very same premise. Read full review

  • 30
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Director Alex Proyas resolutely thinks in B-movie terms. Even with an A-list budget, he oversells every plot point and gooses the thrills with hokey lighting, bombastic music and serious overacting. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    If you see only one bad movie this year, definitely make it Knowing. The first major disappointment from director Alex Proyas is a disaster movie, a horror picture, a "Da Vinci Code"-style thriller and an end-of-days religious film all at once. Read full review

View more reviews for Knowing on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Grim sci-fi thriller is too intense for young kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this grim sci-fi thriller is about global catastrophe and disaster, which could be very upsetting for kids. There are scary presences, spooky music, dead parents, and children in danger throughout the movie, and it really stretches the PG-13 rating in terms of depicting horrifying disasters (a monumental plane crash injures and kills scores of people, an out-of-control subway train smashes into a crowded station, etc.). Animals are seen burning as they flee from a massive fire. A main character also drinks to excess on a number of occasions, and there's some language ("s--t," "damn," etc.).
  • Families can talk about how the movie creates suspense. Would it be as spooky or scary without the music, close-up shots, or shadows?
  • Parents, if the movie's end-of-the-world subject matter upsets your kids, be sure to address their fears.
  • And on a lighter note, you can also discuss what you'd put in a time capsule to represent your life.
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: Single parents are shown as loving, concerned, and trustworthy.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: Wracked by grief after the recent death of a loved one, a leading character abuses alcohol on a nightly basis.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Harrowing accidents are shown in great detail. A plane crashes into a crowded freeway, with bodies, fires, and injuries everywhere; a train speeds out-of-control through New York's Subway system, inflicting destruction, death, and injury. Children are often in grave danger -- from accidents, scary strangers lurking, fire, abduction, and many major events over which they have no control. One little girl is shown bloodied and on the brink of madness in an early scene. Burning animals flee from a fire (one is shown in a disturbing close up).
  • sex false0 Sex: Not an issue
  • language false2 Language: Cursing includes "dammit," "hell," "s--t ," and "oh my God."
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: A scene set in a convenience store shows Pepsi and other products. One Sabrett's hot dog stand is prominently seen on an NYC sidewalk.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: An otherwise principled character frequently drinks to excess when depressed.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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