Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam more
From the director of 1997 sci-fi thriller CUBE, comes this equally forward looking tale of double-agents and futuristic spy rings. Jeremy Northam plays Morgan Sullivan, a bored,... more
that will keep you guessing until its final twist. Morgan Sullivan is an out of work accountant seeking an escape from his lacklustre existence and his overbeari...
Production Year: 2008 - Action/Adventure - Director: Christopher Nolan - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
A review by blackman007 on Cypher (DVD) December 21st, 2005
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Liked it
Story
Good
Characters / Performances
Good
Special Effects
Good
Soundtrack
Good
Advantages:
Not your average sci - fi movie
Disadvantages:
This one slipped under the radar
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
CYPHER
After his directorial debut Cube, Vincenzo Natali brings us a suave, intelligent Sci-Fi thriller that does exactly what it says on the tin.
Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) yearns for a more exciting life so he changes his boring suburban lifestyle for a more fulfilling one by changing careers to become an industrial spy for a technological company called Digicorp.
Given a pen with a hidden microphone and receiver, his assignments are to go to conferences and secretly transmit the speeches to Digicorp HQ without exposing him or his employers. Knowing that industrial espionage is vital, Sullivan at long last feels he is significant and important especially that he goes under the name of Jack Thursby.
On his travels he comes across a beautiful environmental health officer; Rita Foster (Lucy Liu) who captivates him both mentally and physically. With her help and as he completes more assignments it is revealed to him that all is not what it seems. He uncovers a plot involving double crossing, double agents and brainwashing techniques to form new identities… all in the name of industrial espionage. On top of this, Sullivan has to battle against his own recurring nightmares, find the truth and wondering whom he can trust.
Natali's direction is first-rate. His vision and technique culminates in a visually striking movie. With traces of monochrome this picture has a dystopian feel attached to it as well as a touch of film noir. Even though there are a lot of influences from other movies and TV programs such as The X-Files, The Matrix, Swordfish, Gattaca, Natali does enough by keeping us intrigued by how the story will develop. This, in fact, is where Vincenzo Natali handles the movie very well. Where some directors would have shrouded us in confusion and psychobabble, (the Wachowski brothers. Sorry guys) Natali holds it together and ensures we grasp what is going on in terms of the story's development.
Characters we care about also seem to be very important to the director and this is epitomised by Northam's performance as the conservative spy, which is understated yet brilliant. He manages to succeed in expressing a range of differing emotions ranging from confusion and frustration to teenage excitement and ruthlessness. Lucy Liu again shows her credentials as a movie actress by putting in a solid performance as the mysterious Rita Foster. Support from Nigel Bennett (Finster) and Timothy Webber (Calloway) is adequate but also imperative to the film.
The musical score also plays a vital role in this picture by setting the whole mood, atmosphere and emotions of the characters, which in turn helps to keep the film flowing.
Cypher is a good film that does not rely on Michael Bay style big sets and even bigger explosions to entertain but it concentrates its efforts on strong performances, an interesting storyline and impressive direction. With these qualities it is pretty difficult to understand how this movie slipped under the radar. This is a very underrated picture and in the future more people will sit up and take notice. Cypher is definitely "better than your average sci-fi movie" and disproves the theory that overblown budgets and gargantuan names such as Cruise, Pacino and Jolie are necessary for a good film.
Advantages: Intelligent, surprising and unsual Disadvantages: May lack lasting appeal
After seeing this film I've recommended it to several friends (off-line in the real world) as being an intelligent cross between James Bond and the Matrix. The movie starts with the unremarkable Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) being signed up as an industrial spy and assigned his undercover identity as Jack Thursby. His surprisingly easy job is to attend and record (by use of a transmitter pen) a series of extremely tedious business lectures across ... ...new alter ego away from his boring married life and even develops a taste for scotch and smoking. At this point you think it may just be a movie about a normal guy going through a mid-life crisis and living vicariously as Jack Thursby but the rabbit hole goes much deeper than this. Enter the mysterious and exciting Rita Foster (Lucy Liu) who piece by piece starts to uncover what's really going on behind the scenes and the reason for the onset of ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Truly terrifying and brilliant soundtrack Disadvantages: Looks dated now
..., Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards
Running Time: 91 mins
Classification: 18
The DVD is available from some online stores. The cheapest price I could find is £9.99 from www.dvd.co.uk, but I would recommend getting the 25th anniversary special 2 disc edition, which is £13.99 from www.dvd.co.uk . I think it is probably cheaper on the high street. I am only reviewing the film, so I can't comment on the extras....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Merges action and intelligence seemlessly. Visually stunning. Great sci-fi concept! Disadvantages: None, Nada, Nicto. The best film ever made has no faults...
...'s a film that has simultaneously redefined its own medium. Film doesn't get any better than this!
Overall - No negative points about the film? You bet your ass - there is simply nothing negative to say about the mind-blowing awesomeness of The Matrix. Say what you like about the sequels, nothing has matched The Matrix in its technical capacity, its artistry or its originality since. The final masterpiece of the twentieth century, just so happens to be the greatest film ever made as well. Move over George, the Star Wars universes' time is up?
Pants Watch - For those that want to know, Joe Pantoliano (Joey Pants) features in the film as the ambiguous Cypher and, like all films Joey Pants decides to show his face in, he is awesome.
What's On The DVD - The Matrix Revisited package is a two-disc edition of the movie, released for two...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Plot: Morgan Sullivan finds himself out of his depth when he becomes embroiled in the world of espionage.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): CINEMA CLUB; SONY DADC, 4DVD; SPIRIT ENTERTAINMENT; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date: 07/02/2005
No of Discs: 2
Catalogue No: CCD 30125
Barcode: 5014138301255
Languages
Main Language: English
Subtitle Language: English
Hearing Impaired Language: English
DVD Description
From the director of 1997 sci-fi thriller CUBE, comes this equally forward looking tale of double-agents and futuristic spy rings. Jeremy Northam plays Morgan Sullivan, a bored, put-upon suburban accountant who dreams of a more exciting career. He becomes a company spy for huge firm Digicorp, he must secretly record sensitive information at trade conventions, under an assumed identity. He meets the enigmatic Rita (Lucy Liu) who works for a rival company, and she convinces him he's been brainwashed by Digicorp and offers him the chance to be anti-brainwashed and work for Sunways, putting him in the difficult position of double-agent. Increasingly psychologically disturbed with divided loyalties, cracks begin to appear in Sullivan's fragile mind, and the real and the imaginary become dangerously blurred. His only saviour comes in Rita's boss, Rooks, but first he must perform one final deadly assignment.
Technical information
Special Features: Making Of, Deleted Scenes, Behind The Scenes, Audio Commentary, Interviews, Trailer
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22.07.2005
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