Popcorn entertainment that ENTERTAINS -- what a concept!

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 2002)

The plot and characters are sketched thinner than bible paper, but I can't take it when people say the film is "not very smart." Excuse me? This movie mirrors Anime in its lean, evocative approach to storytelling. It chooses style over substance, but unlike most American film, it doesn't try to: (a) pretend like it has substance too, or (b) sabotage your imagination from filling in the substance. The sins of this approach may include effervescence and sodomy, but at least it's a breath of fresh air from the Huxley-esque entertainment Hollywood normally tries to dish us. Why don't we just down a Soma tablet and be done with it? Sometimes I think people are honestly so dumb they really believe that last Arnold flick was better than this because it "tried" to have depth. Right. You mean it went through the assembly line. Blade II came out of its own shop.