Probably the most overrated movie of recent memory.

Rating: 3/10 (10 September 2002)

First of all, this is not a horrible movie. It does keep you mildly interested. But it has several, fatal flaws.
One reviewer mentioned that the film was too clever by half. I totally concur. The film went out of its way to create something unique, and in the process lost the entire narrative structure. So when it ends, you barely even know if it happened. In fact, you don't know that it happened. If Leonard was delusional about Sammy, then perhaps he was delusional about all the characters in the movie. The fact is, you will never know.
The problem is, this doesn't make for a good film. Good films are those where the narrative art is enhanced by the photography. By this measure, the movie fails, as the photography does almost nothing to tell the story, and Guy Pearce is as milquetoast a leading man as there is. The fact is, the film is about trying to put you in his shoes, to show you what Leonard must have felt like living with no memory, but you end up feeling nothing at all because he is such a bland character actor.
I would compare this film in some ways to Se7en--except that Se7en does a much better job telling the story (even if the ending wasn't at all surprising). The major difference is that you care about what happens to the characters in Se7en. There is no empathy with Leonard, partly because the film never gives you the chance because it's too busy being clever.
Perhaps people will rate it highly, but it is definitely not a Citizen Kane or Casablanca, a movie where you can take it out and watch it over and over again. It's far too dismal for that. It's more a movie like Resevoir Dogs, where you like the idea (and perhaps the execution), but the way the story is put together keeps it from being a classic.
3/10