Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Executscan Expected more

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

FlashCallahan The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre has developed SID version 6.7: a virtual reality entity which is created from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers. LETAC wants to train police officers by putting them in VR with SID, but they must prove the concept by using prisoners as test subjects. One such prisoner is ex-cop Parker Barnes. When SID manages to inject his personality into a nano-machine android, it appears that Barnes might be the only one who can stop him............The film is total rubbish from beginning to end, and Washington allegedly only starred in it because his son wanted him to do it, but to see two wonderful actors star in such exploitative nonsense, you cannot help but love every second of it.Crowe has a mouthful of scenery in every frame he's in, and he appears to be channelling every comic book villain portrayed before 1995. There are elements of The Joker, Simon Phoenix, and even Karl from Die Hard in his persona, and although he's hamming it up to major bacon levels, he's a joy to watch.Washington is playing it deadly serious though, and few quips wouldn't have gone a miss, but it's Washington, and I'd watch him paint a room.The special effects are awful, some of the set pieces are really strange, and the concept of the film, and the way the narrative plays out is just so bonkers, it's actually quite ingenious.Don't get me wrong, Bret Leonard is an awful director, more concerned about the concept of VR rather than actual reality, and this is a really stupid film, but my word, is it entertaining to see Crowe do something so ridiculous.It's the second best film that Washington and Crowe have starred in together.......

Predrag It's not a blockbuster, true. However, it's far from "yawn-inducing spawn of Lawnmover 2" and other futuristic crap about nano-technology and cyberspace. There are plot-holes, but show me similar movie without any. Indeed, the plot is not mind-wracking: an omnipotent killer (R.C.) from cyber-space, created for cops' training by some secret government organization, breaks loose, and only an imprisoned ex-cop (D.W.) whose family has perished in an explosion from another terrorist, can stop him. D.W. has been much blamed by other reviewers for giving "wooden" and "flat" performance, which is rather unjust. He delivers what's expected of him: a positive hero, tortured by memories and own guilt, being used by the government that promises him freedom if he stops their creation.However, for those that love action, there is plenty of this to keep the excitement levels raised. Our brilliant villain uses the analogy of music to give an "artistic" touch to his heinous crimes. The two main actors give a remarkable performance of extreme mockery from Russel, and black rage from Denzel. Because of the well treated source material, the quality of acting, and set design I think it's worth it.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

lathe-of-heaven I guess I have a bit of a soft spot for Cyberpunk films. Even when I was little, I was TOTALLY fascinated and enthralled with the television series 'WILD, WILD WEST'. I just loved all the neat, creative devices they came up with. I also really liked this director's other film 'LAWNMOWER MAN' a lot too (mainly because I really liked the actors, I think) And, I feel that for the Genre, this film here is quite good. Denzel is excellent as usual and the supporting actors do a fine job. Prior to seeing this, I wasn't aware that Russell Crowe was the bad guy. He is delightfully Evil (if maybe a BIT hammy at times) and has kind of an infectious charisma that is hard not to like. He comes across with a nice balance of being both childlike and Evil.If you like this kind of Cyberpunk Science Fiction, this movie is actually quite entertaining. I cannot for the life of me see why this director after doing both 'LAWNMOWER MAN' and this film, suddenly seemed to drop off the face of the earth. Very sad... I think he had some real talent, and it would have been interesting to see what other films he might have made along these linesI feel that some of the negative reviews are probably due to people who perhaps do not like these kinds of films to begin with. I mean, NO..., it is not 'BLADERUNNER' or 'THX-1138' or '2001', that is true. But, for this TYPE of Science Fiction film, I felt that it was imaginative and fun and well above average compared to many other similar movies out there. I personally liked this film better than JOHNNY MNEMONIC' although that also was a very entertaining film. But, I found this one to be more involving and the characters (AND the acting) to be quite a bit better. The STORY of 'JOHNNY MNEMONIC' is a lot better, but the acting and characters of this film are better. Some other strong points of this film is it's good pacing along with some decent effects (for the time) and, like I had mentioned, Russell Crowe as the bad guy is pretty entertaining, although at times, also quite chilling.So, I think what you have to consider if you are trying to determine whether you want to spend your time watching this or not, is whether you like this TYPE of Science Fiction. There are SO MANY different kinds of Sci Fi, that it's impossible to group them all together and make a single judgment on the Genre as a whole. Different types can be EXTREMELY divergent. You can have films that are more Psychological or Cerebral like 'PRIMER' or 'PREDESTINATION' (Yes, I am editing this review some time later :) or fun, lighter ones like this one, or some that are like 'TERMINATOR' or 'ALIENS', or you can have really dark Horror Sci Fi like the excellent 'HARDWARE', or Sci Fi films that are much more heavily weighted toward social issues or character studies. Some are quite densely structured like 'DUNE' (the book more so than the movie, although I LOVE Lynch's film) and then you have light, kind of silly ones. So, there are a LOT of very different kinds. But, IF you do like THIS kind of fun, imaginative, and entertaining Science Fiction and can just sit back and enjoy it, there may be a good chance that you might like this film like I did. And, Denzel is almost ALWAYS very good...It is Oscar material? No... Is it a lot of fun? HELL yeah!

MisterWhiplash Brett Leonard is a name that has fallen by the wayside, and, maybe rightfully so. The director of such a film as The Lawnmower Man didn't really make anything of note since this film Virtuosity (unless one counts Highlander 5: The Source to be of actual quality which is hard to argue for), but there was a time when he knew where to put the camera and shoot as far as action and competency with his actors. The plot of Virtuosity is cut out of other movies to be sure, and would be again (one may be reminded of 12 Monkeys with its convicted man put on a mission by his captors, or even by Batman with its anti-hero and psychotic villain creating chaos all over the city), but, perhaps if only in retrospect, the movies carries some solid entertainment in the near-mindless tradition of loud, stupid Hollywood science fiction movies of the 90's. It's like John Woo lite.There isn't much to the plot except that a former detective (Washington) in prison for killing a man, and a few others, one of whom responsible for the death of his wife and daughter, is put into a virtual reality simulation against a psychotic being (Crowe), who is let into the real world by an asswipe who wants to get back at his bosses or something, and now the mano-a-mano is on in the real world (and, another former movie reference, Escape from NY: finish the mission, get a full pardon, but don't mind the chip in your head that might kill you). The plot is cookie cutter, and there is lack of motivation to some of the action until the over the top climax comes around. But within the silly context of things, it does make sense. And for those who may be tired of the super-fast action cutting of today's product (Bourne, Transformers, Expendables), it is a relief to be able to see what's going on.Will it be amazing for everyone? Probably not. It does have generic plotting and the very end is close to a cop-out. But one big factor in my enjoyment of Virtuosity, on top of the decent action, were the stars, Washington and especially Crowe. The latter gives a performance that is surprising considering where he went to for the rest of his Hollywood career. This is an actor with a lot to prove, and it's ironic considering Crowe is having more diabolical fun as a Terminator-cum-Joker than he has had in most other more serious action oriented roles. Sometimes his mannerisms make the stakes a little crazier, or simply the way he acts across from stoic and concerned Washington that makes it work so. Strange as it might seem, it's really one of Crowe's finest performances, true to the wonky nature of the character and just wicked fun. It's like Crowe's imitation of a Rutger Hauer performance, which is a sight to see on its own.Certainly it's no masterpiece, but Virtuosity has its charms and moments of excitement. It's likely the highpoint of Leonard's career, which may not be saying much, but putting together cool virtual reality sequences (the opening is most thrilling) and two high-caliber stars makes for some fun Saturday afternoon viewing.