Immediately after seeing this movie, I just thought that it was a great
movie. However, after thinking over it for a little while, I've decided
that it doesn't quite deserve all that much credit.
Jeff Bridges stars as psychiatrist Mark Powell, who accepts a new patient
named Prot (Kevin Spacey) to his care. Prot claims to have arrived from
the planet K-PAX, which at first brings about laughable skepticism.
But, as the film progresses, Prot wows not only Dr. Powell, but also
several of Powell's astronomer friends by drawing a model of his area
of the solar system. Similarly, all of the medication which has been
prescribed to Prot seems to have no effects, an unprecedented event.
Powell is extremely confused, eventually taking Prot to meet his family,
and, as mentioned before, taking him to a planetarium where he shows off
his astrological skills. The final truths about Prot are quite interesting,
but it does shoot down the imaginative "halo" that had been placed around
Prot throughout the film.
All in all, K-PAX is a good film to see, if nothing else but to imagine
yourself in Powell's position. But the film is rather slow, making you
wait for a shocking and fulfilling finish that just never occurs. The
film is, for the most part, acceptable for most children to see, but whether
or not they'll be interested in it at all is totally in the air.
