Empty action movie masquerading as high-concept

Rating: 5/10 (27 June 2003)

You can forgive the odd plot holes here and there when the story is set in the future. You can forgive the misguided and poorly thought-out acting jobs when the settings are supposed to be more interesting than the characters. You can forgive the silly action sequences that are nonetheless visually impressive. And you can forgive the script for supplying weak exposition through dialogue because the writer thinks the story will be too difficult to follow.
You could forgive all these and more if you felt like you were actually witnessing a moving work of art. Seriously flawed sci-fi movies like "Forbidden Planet" and "Close Encounters" are nonetheless enjoyable because you're watching the raw artistry of a story told by a moving camera.
But you can't forgive this movie for wasting its philosophy and artistry in favor of cheap tricks and audience flagellation. I had the uncomfortable feeling that I was watching an action-film template that had been superimposed upon what was once a good idea. This movie has more in common with the empty, action-fed Schwarzenegger "identity" movies ("Total Recall", "The 6th Day", etc.) than it does with other great sci-fi titles.
It is visually impressive, and I am sure a great deal of time was spent on the aspects of daily life in the 2050s. But sets and gadgets can only take you so far, and it wasn't far enough.
There is very little artistry in this movie, and very little that is worthwhile that you can't get from a two-line summary of the set-up.