Obviously borrows heavily from some of the big sci-fi movies of the era
After a very ordinary start, it actually becomes a little interesting and does a couple of clumsy twists.
It's not high on special effects (which is probably just as well)
Overall, it was a lot better than I expected, but I can't say it was great
Performances are laughably unconvincing and the fact that Northam actually won a best actor for this at a film festival is probably the most unbelievable and amazing things about this.
The Special Effects is special like Special Ed is special and most likely they dug up Ed Wood and had him in charge of it 'cause this about ten bucks short of visible fish-line.
The whole thing is like how they envisioned the future in the 1940:s or 50:s, if there actually is such a thing as a retro future please kill it with fire before it spreads.
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2018-07-10T23:03:30Z
One of my favourite B-movies. It's a fun ride, but as many times as I've seen it (two so far logged on Trakt, but closer to a dozen otherwise), the twist in the middle when he switches from Digicorp to Sunways and then the similar twist later is just handled poorly. They knew what they wanted to do, but they didn't handle it well, and it only makes sense when you get to the end and you learn what's really going on. Still, it's a great concept.
I think this film was marketed a little too heavily to the Matrix fans, and while it may appeal to some of the same fans, it really deserves to stand on its own. The acting is a little off, or Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam's character) is just super punchable. Though, I think the bad acting is mostly intentional as this movie is all about people (not just Sullivan) who pretend to be something they aren't. Is it bad acting or are they acting the roles of bad actors well?
This is not really a movie for 'normal' people. If you're looking for something different and original in the genres of science fiction and suspense/thrillers, this is a good pick. It's not a great film, but it's a fun techie/spy movie. Although calling it a spy movie isn't entirely correct; because of James Bond, we expect spies to use all kinds of weird gadgets and seduce beautiful women on foreign beaches with fancy drinks. This is more corporate espionage.