The Terminal Man

Based on a book by Michael Crichton, The Terminal Man follows George Segal’s Harry Benson as he agrees to participate in an experimental procedure designed to curb his violent impulses. (Things go awry, of course, after Harry begins deriving pleasure from his more rebellious actions.) Filmmaker Mike Hodges delivers an often astonishingly deliberate drama that remains impossible to connect to from start to finish, as the oppressively slow atmosphere transforms The Terminal Man into a seriously tedious experience that’s almost entirely devoid of compelling elements – with the picture, in its disastrous first half, weighed down by the aforementioned procedure that seems to unfold in punishing real time. There’s subsequently never a point at which Hodges is able to wholeheartedly recapture the viewer’s absent interest, although it’s worth noting that the film’s comparatively enthralling third act admittedly does contain a small handful of engaging sequences (eg Harry makes an unexpected visit to his sympathetic doctor’s isolated home). Segal’s uncommonly charm-free performance is merely another nail in the coffin of what’s ultimately a massive misfire, which is surprising, really, given the relatively masterful and engrossing nature of Crichton’s original novel.

* out of ****