Both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe are 'A-list' actors who have been in some top-notch pictures during their careers. But even big stars are not immune from taking the attitude that they always must be working in order to make a buck. That's basically what happened here with their decision to be a part of this hopeless enterprise known as 'Virtuosity'.
Set in a futuristic Los Angeles, Denzel Washington plays former police Lt. Parker Barnes, imprisoned for life after murdering a terrorist who kidnapped his wife and child. It seems during his failed attempt to rescue his family, not only does he kill Grimes and his associates but a pair of newsmen covering the story. Barnes is called upon (along with another inmate), to test out the Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Center's (LETAC) new virtual reality program, designed to improve officer's tracking skills by hunting down SID 6.7 (played by a one-note Russell Crowe), a virtual reality entity whose personality is a composite of the 200 worst criminals in history. During the test, SID figures out how to raise the sensitivity calibrations in the virtual reality program, which ends up killing one of the inmates who's been participating in the program test.
As a result, the Commissioner in charge of the program wants to shut it down but the program's originator tricks his brainy co-worker into turning SID into a real-world regenerating android (similar to the android in Terminator II). SID then escapes and is determined to murder as many people as possible in the real world. Barnes, who proved his mettle during his virtual reality encounter with SID, is now given a chance to earn his freedom by tracking the sadistic criminal down and eliminating him. He's joined by Dr. Madison Carter, a psychiatrist, who acts as a consultant to LETAC.
The bulk of the movie involves Barnes chasing SID in various venues in Los Angeles. In contrast to Terminator II, where Arnold Schwarznegger used a high powered shotgun to create large bullet holes in the android he's trying to subdue, Barnes shoots SID with an ordinary handgun, resulting in less dramatic smaller holes that regenerate every time SID is shot. I guess Virtuosity's budget wasn't as big as Terminator II.
It appears that SID can really kill Barnes anytime he feels like it and at one point he frees him from a locked armored car as Barnes is being transported back to prison. We're told that SID does this because he simply enjoys the sport of Barnes chasing him. But if Barnes is SID's main impediment to creating more mayhem in the city, why doesn't SID dispatch Barnes right away? Obviously, you wouldn't have much of a movie left if Barnes is eliminated too soon.
Finally, Dr. Carter leaves her daughter 'home alone' which allows SID to conveniently kidnap her and threaten to kill the child on national TV. Barnes tracks SID down at the TV station and continues to fire bullets at him that only temporarily impede his movements. Eventually, Barnes has a face-to-face fistfight with SID on top of a high-rise. Despite the fact that SID has superhuman strength and could probably kill Barnes with one blow, their confrontation lasts a couple of minutes, eventually leading to SID's demise as he falls through a glass ceiling and is impaled on shards of glass. As he is about to regenerate, Barnes takes the crystal software program from the back of SID's head which effectively shuts him down. Using the crystal, Barnes tricks SID into revealing the location of Dr. Madison's kidnapped daughter inside the virtual reality world, and then saves the little girl. End of movie.
What could have been a fascinating journey through a virtual reality dream-like world, turns into an ordinary cop-criminal encounter featuring a series of dull chase scenes, once SID becomes a real-life android. The similarities between Virtuosity and Terminator II are obvious but the latter movie has much more class. Yes, Virtuosity does have a 'plot' but it's much more laughable than suspenseful. Denzel and Russell Crowe do collect their paychecks but really should be embarrassed to have been part of this vapid, cheesy production.
Set in a futuristic Los Angeles, Denzel Washington plays former police Lt. Parker Barnes, imprisoned for life after murdering a terrorist who kidnapped his wife and child. It seems during his failed attempt to rescue his family, not only does he kill Grimes and his associates but a pair of newsmen covering the story. Barnes is called upon (along with another inmate), to test out the Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Center's (LETAC) new virtual reality program, designed to improve officer's tracking skills by hunting down SID 6.7 (played by a one-note Russell Crowe), a virtual reality entity whose personality is a composite of the 200 worst criminals in history. During the test, SID figures out how to raise the sensitivity calibrations in the virtual reality program, which ends up killing one of the inmates who's been participating in the program test.
As a result, the Commissioner in charge of the program wants to shut it down but the program's originator tricks his brainy co-worker into turning SID into a real-world regenerating android (similar to the android in Terminator II). SID then escapes and is determined to murder as many people as possible in the real world. Barnes, who proved his mettle during his virtual reality encounter with SID, is now given a chance to earn his freedom by tracking the sadistic criminal down and eliminating him. He's joined by Dr. Madison Carter, a psychiatrist, who acts as a consultant to LETAC.
The bulk of the movie involves Barnes chasing SID in various venues in Los Angeles. In contrast to Terminator II, where Arnold Schwarznegger used a high powered shotgun to create large bullet holes in the android he's trying to subdue, Barnes shoots SID with an ordinary handgun, resulting in less dramatic smaller holes that regenerate every time SID is shot. I guess Virtuosity's budget wasn't as big as Terminator II.
It appears that SID can really kill Barnes anytime he feels like it and at one point he frees him from a locked armored car as Barnes is being transported back to prison. We're told that SID does this because he simply enjoys the sport of Barnes chasing him. But if Barnes is SID's main impediment to creating more mayhem in the city, why doesn't SID dispatch Barnes right away? Obviously, you wouldn't have much of a movie left if Barnes is eliminated too soon.
Finally, Dr. Carter leaves her daughter 'home alone' which allows SID to conveniently kidnap her and threaten to kill the child on national TV. Barnes tracks SID down at the TV station and continues to fire bullets at him that only temporarily impede his movements. Eventually, Barnes has a face-to-face fistfight with SID on top of a high-rise. Despite the fact that SID has superhuman strength and could probably kill Barnes with one blow, their confrontation lasts a couple of minutes, eventually leading to SID's demise as he falls through a glass ceiling and is impaled on shards of glass. As he is about to regenerate, Barnes takes the crystal software program from the back of SID's head which effectively shuts him down. Using the crystal, Barnes tricks SID into revealing the location of Dr. Madison's kidnapped daughter inside the virtual reality world, and then saves the little girl. End of movie.
What could have been a fascinating journey through a virtual reality dream-like world, turns into an ordinary cop-criminal encounter featuring a series of dull chase scenes, once SID becomes a real-life android. The similarities between Virtuosity and Terminator II are obvious but the latter movie has much more class. Yes, Virtuosity does have a 'plot' but it's much more laughable than suspenseful. Denzel and Russell Crowe do collect their paychecks but really should be embarrassed to have been part of this vapid, cheesy production.