Cheap K-PAX (DVD) (Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges) (Iain Softley) Price

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Customer Reviews of K-PAX

A great movie with a nice, ambiguous ending!
There are movies that have clear-cut beginnings, middles and endings where all is wrapped up neatly and not much cognitive activity is required by the viewer to enjoy such a film. Then there are the movies that twist and turn and end with closure that's incomplete, ambiguous and leaves the viewer thinking, "what if?" That's what makes K-PAX so special. It's not formulaic, and the casting of Kevin Spacey as the mental patient who comes from the planet K-PAX (or does he?) was a master stroke. Spacey's sardonic smile, the twinkle in his eye, make the character Prot come to life. Jeff Bridges, as the psychiatrist who tries to unravel the mystery of Prot, is a bit over the edge, and talents such as Alfre Woodard are wasted as Bridges' co-workers who don't have much more to do than pose questions. Spacey's acting is subtly dazzling from beginning to end and he's clearly emerged as one of Hollywood's great actors who had both breadth of talent and depth! My family, including my normally restless 9-year-old son, were transfixed by this movie and I don't think any of us dared hit "pause" to go grab a soft drink or make a bathroom run while this movie was on. It was so good, we didn't want it to end! This is an enjoyable movie that is great family fare. Younger kids may not get it, but those 8 or 9 up to 80 or 90 are sure to love it! Highly recommended!

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Unsatisfying
Sorta of a modern day "Cuckoo's Nest" with Kevin Spacey claiming to be an alien from K-Pax and Jeff Bridges as the overly absorbed psychiatrist trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The major problem with this movie is that this is incredibly unsatisfying. The first part of the movie is spent trying to make a case that Prot (played by Spacey) is really an alien, since he knows the precise orbit of K-Pax and can eat whole fruit including the skin and appears sensitive to ultraviolet light. But the second part of the movie seems to become a murder mystery and makes the case that Prot really is a man who came home to find his wife and daughter murdered and thus went off the deep end, literally.

Both premises appear logical but neither is well explained. If Prot is really an alien, how come he looks like this other guy? And if he is the other guy, what explains his behavior?

The weakest part of the story is the loonies at the mental hospital that surround Prot. They seem like rejects from Cuckoo's Nest and while they add color, they don't particularly help to advance the story. There is one scene when the paitents get worked up about seeing a bluebird that appears to have been copied directly from the World Series scene in "Cuckoo's Nest."

Spacey is believable as a would-be alien and Bridges is fine as the doctor who is so engrossed in his work that he has negelcted his family. There is the usual cliched mesaage that has been told in a multitude of movies - appreciate what you have before it is too late.

I know that some will rationalize the weak ending by stating "It's left to your imagination". Fine, but that is just an excuse for poor filmmaking. A story needs to have a point of view and tell it with conviction. "K-Pax's" failure to tell a story leaves us mostly empty.

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good, but what the heck?????????
Fine acting for the most part, an enjoyable story line and good photography, too. But I have to ask: how does Spacey know the orbit trajectories or whatever it is of his supposed far-off galaxy? Did he secretly bone up on this one thing to sway the authorities? And the ending! A vibrant, intelligent (if troubled) person is turned into a drooling basket case by the brilliant doctors of Manhattan Institute. Now that's some serious doctoring! And then the good doctor finally bonds with his son? Huh?