Yet another example of a high budget, low intelligence blockbuster movie where the plot suffers at the expense of an action sequence inserted in every ten minutes, usually involving lots of shooting and special effects. While I have nothing against action films, I usually like a bit of intrigue and clever plotting to help move things along. Not so in this film.
The sole reason to watch is for the special effects, of which there are lots, as the film uses virtual reality as a basis (much like its predecessor, THE LAWNMOWER MAN). The best scenes are the ones where SID is maimed/badly injured, and his limbs regenerate with the help of glass. These scenes are cleverly done, although of course they do borrow from TERMINATOR 2 (speaking of borrowing, the green blood inside SID is strangely reminiscent of the green-blooded androids in FORTRESS). At the end of the film there is a brilliant bit where SID is thrown through glass ceilings and his arms and legs are all cut off. However, they begin to grow back again.
Denzel Washington is the star of this film, somewhat surprisingly. Firstly I thought he only appeared in high-class, intelligent movies, but obviously not. The second surprising fact is his muscular, perfect physique. Now the slim Washington is not someone I would immediately suspect of possessing a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger's, so I presume that it was in fact a bodysuit that the actor was wearing. Still, I can't be sure. Washington is a good actor and is fine in his role, but Russell Crowe, as the villain, is very obnoxious (intentional) to the extent that he made me want to switch off. Not the intended reaction I'm sure. Crowe is another Freddy Krueger clone who continually makes stupid, lame wisecracks which will appeal to moronic teenagers, which I for one am not.
Kelly Lynch is the expected love interest but is not given much to do, appearing more like a second-rate Scully than anything else. And there we have it. While the action and special effects aren't half bad (in fact, they're quite enjoyable), the film is a clichéd mess to be watched with the brain switched firmly off. And if Crowe hadn't been quite so irritating it might have got a higher score.
The sole reason to watch is for the special effects, of which there are lots, as the film uses virtual reality as a basis (much like its predecessor, THE LAWNMOWER MAN). The best scenes are the ones where SID is maimed/badly injured, and his limbs regenerate with the help of glass. These scenes are cleverly done, although of course they do borrow from TERMINATOR 2 (speaking of borrowing, the green blood inside SID is strangely reminiscent of the green-blooded androids in FORTRESS). At the end of the film there is a brilliant bit where SID is thrown through glass ceilings and his arms and legs are all cut off. However, they begin to grow back again.
Denzel Washington is the star of this film, somewhat surprisingly. Firstly I thought he only appeared in high-class, intelligent movies, but obviously not. The second surprising fact is his muscular, perfect physique. Now the slim Washington is not someone I would immediately suspect of possessing a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger's, so I presume that it was in fact a bodysuit that the actor was wearing. Still, I can't be sure. Washington is a good actor and is fine in his role, but Russell Crowe, as the villain, is very obnoxious (intentional) to the extent that he made me want to switch off. Not the intended reaction I'm sure. Crowe is another Freddy Krueger clone who continually makes stupid, lame wisecracks which will appeal to moronic teenagers, which I for one am not.
Kelly Lynch is the expected love interest but is not given much to do, appearing more like a second-rate Scully than anything else. And there we have it. While the action and special effects aren't half bad (in fact, they're quite enjoyable), the film is a clichéd mess to be watched with the brain switched firmly off. And if Crowe hadn't been quite so irritating it might have got a higher score.