Pretty good forerunner to the Matrix, by and large......

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 2005)

.....few things that I remember about it when it came out-Roger Ebert called it the Best film of 1998(over Pvt Ryan etc? Naw....), it came and went quickly, and no one seems to remember it much now.
I liked it for the most part. Performances are good, sets great, F/X unique, storyline ranging from 'Metropolis' to 'the Matrix' from the year after this came out. I was bothered only by a few things--the Freddy Kruegerish appearance of the baddies was not original, to say the least; you never find out where they got these people from who play the lab rats--how much of Earth is left over, what year is it, etc--forget that. Not gonna get the answers.
Acting is solid-Sutherland plays a different kinda role but I thought was good. Connelly was her usual voluptuous, soft-spoken 1990's self, before she became a stick. Go back to eating more please Jen. The lead I don't remember from anything else, but he was fine, and certainly an improvement over Keanu. William Hurt does his usual.
This was an impressive movie to watch, but I am not surprised it failed at the box office. It's downbeat, slow, murky, and moody. No one is a big name. And you don't get the kinds of payoffs in it that audiences seem to want (paging Keanu again...).....
That said, do watch it. It's worth getting. Heck I spent all of 5 bucks on the DVD, a steal.
*** outta ****