Knox Goes Away Parent Guide

After a long career as a professional killer, John Knox (Michael Keaton) has received some bad news: he’s suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a brain disorder that causes rapid dementia. Disturbing as the symptoms are now, they will worsen quickly and within a few weeks, John won’t know who or where he is.

His time is running out, but John has unfinished business. His estranged son, Miles (James Marsden) just burst into his kitchen begging for help. In a fit of rage, Miles killed the man who sexually groomed his daughter, but now has a body to deal with and no idea where to start. John must wrap up his professional affairs and save his son from prison before he loses what’s left of his mind…and that clock is ticking fast.

Michael Keaton is, as always, worth watching, but there are issues with the film, mostly to do with pacing. The nature of the plot requires frequent scenes of confusion and disorientation which are very effective, but which also mean you spend a lot of time looking at still shots of Michael Keaton looking slightly perplexed. It’s hard to keep up with the ongoing thriller plot when you keep getting a little bit lost. While that’s an excellent parallel for what the protagonist is experiencing, it means this movie isn’t a thrill-a-minute Mr. Nobody type deal, so don’t expect one.

You will, however, encounter a fair bit of violence and profanity, as you might have anticipated from the synopsis. Rather less of both than I would have predicted, but there are still over a dozen f-bombs and a half dozen bloody homicides. There’s also a subplot about a pedophile grooming and impregnating a sixteen-year-old, which is extremely unpleasant but is only referred to in dialogue with no on-screen activity.

Can I say the film was a underwhelming without sounding like I hated it? It’s a little familiar in some ways, a little slow in others, but it still works despite its flaws. I don’t think a movie has to reshape the face of the entertainment industry to be watchable, and if you can put up with the pacing and the adult nature of the story, you’ll find something to enjoy here. It just isn’t the big splash you might have been hoping for in a production starring Michael Keaton. And I don’t think it needs to be.