Ethan Hawke Time Travels in New Film ‘Predestination’

The directors of “Daybreakers” take you on a time traveling hunt with Ethan Hawke as the lead in “Predestination,” out Jan. 9. It was the summer of 1958 when Robert A. Heinlein penned “—All You Zombies—” in only a day. Less than a year later, it was published. Fast forward over a half a century later to the Spierig Brothers adapting it for the big screen and “Predestination” is born. It opens the audience’s minds to the idea of paradoxes and explores the unknown yet intriguing idea of time travel with Ethan Hawke as the central character.

Hawke plays a time-traveling Temporal Agent on his last assignment. He must hunt and take down the one criminal who has escaped his grasp throughout the years. Built on suspense and jumping back and forth in time, this is a movie where attentiveness is a necessity. Every moment matters as the search for the elusive bad guy leads Hawke on a journey that includes as many twists and turns as a classic soap opera plot. Only “Predestination” lacks the overt dramatics, and settles for adventure-seeking thrills intertwined with a little fear.

The 45-year-old’s career has taken a timely turn these last few years. Here he plays an Agent heading out on a very serious final mission, and before that, he did the very much talked-about “Boyhood.” That movie didn’t travel through time, but rather explored it naturally as the cast worked on it 12 years to watch the natural growth of its young star. While Hawke has his set fanbase, it’s likely those into the reality of “Boyhood” may not take to the low-key sci-fi aspects of “Predestination.”

In this time-traveling film, one will also find the likes of Sarah Snook and Noah Taylor. Snook has yet to find her grasp on the American audience, but maybe this movie will be her ticket. Then there’s English actor Taylor who has delighted audiences with his range of characters from those who laughed at 2005’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to those who are enthralled by “Game of Thrones.”

“Predestination” opens in theaters Jan. 9.