Dead Again Reviews

I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. In fact, I actually forgot that it was only Kenneth Branagh’s 2nd directorial effort. Anyway, it is one of these typical preposterous thrillers that they used to make back in the 90's but this one actually really worked, at least, for me. The whole thing was obviously inspired by Hitchcock’s work but in a good way and it didn’t stop there as there was also some reincarnation involved and not one but two romances. Indeed, back in those days, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson were definitely a golden couple and they had some very nice chemistry together. I guess it might seem odd to see these two British actors playing some American characters (in fact, it would be the only movie set in the US for which Branagh would play the lead) but I thought that they were both pretty convincing. Above all, the tale, even if it was really far-fetched, was quite entertaining and even the ending which was seriously campy, didn’t bother me since it did fit with the rest of the movie. Eventually, out of the 4 movies Branagh and Thompson would make together, it was definitely one of the best (I still think I prefer ‘Peter's Friends’ which is terribly underrated in my opinion). Following ‘Hamlet’ which was probably his most ambitious project, Branagh spent most of the 2000’s directing some really obscure features and he would make his come-back thanks to Marvel who would hire him to direct ‘Thor’ which was decent enough. Since then, he has been focusing on some blockbusters but the end-results were rather underwhelming (‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’, ‘Cinderella’). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it might not be a masterpiece, I really enjoyed the damned thing, I believe it is a really entertaining thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.