"The Terminal Man" is a story taken from a Michael Crichton novel....and like Michael Crichton stories it's heavy on the medical/scientific aspects. This isn't surprising since he was a Harvard-trained doctor.
The story is about a man with a very strange seizure disorder. Instead of going into typical grand mal or petit mal seizures, Harry (George Segal) has outbursts of violence...with no recollection of any of this afterwards. The story is about his receiving an experimental surgery...one that intends to suppress this need for violence and replace it with positive feelings Unfortunately, the surgery goes desperately wrong and now Harry NEEDS violence....and he goes on a rampage.
The basic story is excellent. Much of this is because of the moral implications of such psychosurgery. Unfortunately, the way it's handled isn't great. The hospital and, in fact, all the film is monochromatic. All the usual colors seem to be missing and the black & white feel of the movie made viewing somewhat tedious. Also tedious was the lack of emotion throughout the film....with too many characters being too quiet considering the material. An infusion of color and energy would have taken this from a very good movie to an exceptional one.
The story is about a man with a very strange seizure disorder. Instead of going into typical grand mal or petit mal seizures, Harry (George Segal) has outbursts of violence...with no recollection of any of this afterwards. The story is about his receiving an experimental surgery...one that intends to suppress this need for violence and replace it with positive feelings Unfortunately, the surgery goes desperately wrong and now Harry NEEDS violence....and he goes on a rampage.
The basic story is excellent. Much of this is because of the moral implications of such psychosurgery. Unfortunately, the way it's handled isn't great. The hospital and, in fact, all the film is monochromatic. All the usual colors seem to be missing and the black & white feel of the movie made viewing somewhat tedious. Also tedious was the lack of emotion throughout the film....with too many characters being too quiet considering the material. An infusion of color and energy would have taken this from a very good movie to an exceptional one.