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Sight
Dr. Ming Wang, an ophthalmologist based in Nashville, is renowned for his expertise in vision correction procedures such as LASIK and cataract surgery. With a background in both medicine and engineering, Dr. Wang is known for his innovative approaches to eye care, blending cutting-edge technology with compassionate patient care. He has earned numerous accolades for his contributions to the field and is widely respected for his commitment to improving vision and changing lives.
Sight
Sight is based on the true story of Dr. Ming Wang, an impoverished Chinese prodigy who became a pioneering eye surgeon in America. Starring Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen, the movie follows Ming as he confronts the trauma of living through China’s violent Cultural Revolution while restoring sight to a blind orphan.
Note from the author: Delivering the following review gives me no joy. However, I’m no good to you if I’m not always honest in my reviews. I continue to believe in Angel Studios’ mission and that they will continue to deliver quality content despite this mistep.
Sight Review
Since 2023, with the films Cabrini and Sound of Freedom, Angel Studios has begun to establish itself as a premiere conservative alternative for quality films. This makes it all the more heartbreaking that Sight is not one of them.
While the subject matter and the real-life story of Dr. Wang’s life are poignant, Sight suffers in nearly every conceivable way as a film. Both Terry Chen and Greg Kinnear deliver dramatically better performances than the dialogue or direction warrant, but neither is enough to save this Hallmark-level offering.
In a film plagued with problems such as amateurish dialogue, Sight’s most significant deficiency is its disjointed story structure and insistence on simultaneously telling what are essentially two disparate stories better told separately. As it jarringly transitions from Wang’s past to the present, it gives neither a chance to build momentum or breath. Whereas in The Blind, director Andrew Hyatt only occasionally hurt the film’s momentum with awkward and unnecessary cutaways to a more mature Phil Robertson discussing his life, Hyatt leans on the convention as a crutch in Sight and demolishes the pacing and the audience’s ability to connect with events.
Certainly, some films successfully tell non-linear stories in which aspects from the past influence the future and enrich the narrative. Unfortunately, Sight isn’t among them. The “present-day” story of Wang’s breakthrough in optical surgery is a miracle of modern science, but the discovery itself consists mainly of the two leads doing research and expositing research. While the filmmakers attempt to infuse this with some drama and give a human connection, it largely fails.
Conversely, Wang’s young life is one of trials and tribulations that explore the human condition through the prism of China’s Social Revolution. It offers moments both harrowing and touching that do nothing as flashbacks but would have made for a Cabrini-level experience told independently, with Wang’s breakthroughs better left as a title card at the film’s end.
Ultimately, Sight is a swing and a miss for Angel Studios.
WOKE ELEMENTS
None
Blessedly Woke-Free