Feels over Reals

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2020)

I watched this in the cinema upon release, and I just rewatched it. If a picture can make me feel for a holographic woman and her relationship with her synthetic human named Joe, then that alone earns the praise of this simple sci-fi sojourner. Then again, Joi doesn't have much competition: the cold Lieutenant or the woman for hire. The visuals take us into one possible future while the score washes over us like a cold tide, with all the expected sensations and blaring nervous symptom responses. "A and T and C and G... four symbols to make a man. And I'm only half that." "But twice as elegant." These 10 seconds of prose cement this picture in tech noir myth forever. Well done cast and crew. This was a solid homage, made brilliant in contrast to all these bland and traitorous reboots and retreads which have fallen flat recently.