Worked in various areas of IT for over 20 years, self employed contractor for over 9. Also a part ti...
Worked in various areas of IT for over 20 years, self employed contractor for over 9. Also a part time musician (bass, drums, acoustic) in a band and duo. Other interests include sound engineering, reading, PC games and website design.
Member since:02.04.2007
Reviews:16
Members who trust:4
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 the US. Almost immediately Sullivan starts to relish inventing his 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 Sullivan's headaches and nightmares since he took the job. Despite apparently helping Sullivan you're still never sure if her motives are for his benefit. At this point it's hard to continue in too much detail without ruining any of the surprises, of which there are many, as the plot starts to unravel. Eventually Sullivan finds himself in a 3-way power struggle between the two corporations controlling him (Digicorp and Sunways) and the ruthless Sebastian Rooks who no one has seen and lived. Northam plays the part of an ordinary guy caught out of his depth in and trapped in the midst of all this so well you find yourself genuinely concerned about how he'll get out alive.
Filled with crosses, double-crosses and plot twists this is an entertaining and intriguing movie that keeps you guessing until the end. Good performances all-round, especially from Northam and David Hewlett as the man who can spot any corporate mole. The look is a good mix of film noire and hi-tech in the same vein as director Vincenzo Natali's previous cult movie Cube. There are some amazing sets (the Vault) and some very dull ones (hotel lecture halls) but this works well in easing you through the transition from the normal to the spectacular. Although some scenes do call for an amount of suspension of disbelief you do also get the impression with the power of modern multinationals this may not be so unrealistic an idea after all.
If you enjoyed the likes of the Matrix, Usual Suspects and Sixth Sense you should enjoy this too although I'm not sure of the film's lasting appeal once it's revealed all it's secrets. I watched it a second time and though still enjoyable it's not quite as much fun when you know how it ends.
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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
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
a good review, and loved the title - very clever! I didn't know whether to give you an H or a VH, but in the end decided on a VH - try adding some other bits of information like how much you paid for it, where it is available from & other stuff to guarantee you a VH :) Keep up the good work! x
Advantages: Merges action and intelligence seemlessly. Visually stunning. Great sci-fi concept! Disadvantages: None, Nada, Nicto. The best film ever made has no faults...
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