Cruise Hits A Triple, Speilberg Singles

Rating: 5/10 (19 July 2002)

Tom Cruise gives a very good performance in a mess of a film. Phillip K. Dick, one of the most brilliant sci-fi writers of all time, is very hard to adapt, because when you read his stories, your mind and imagination are always going to come up with a much better visual than what a movie can show you. This movie seemed to want to be a whole bunch of things but it never came together as a one solid film. The main plot is smart and clever (Dick's) and that is what propels the movie, but man, it is no shock who the secret villain is and the last part of the movie is padded with the typical Hollywood twists and turns that are so forced and just basically tap dancing while you look at your watch and wonder when they're gonna wrap the damn thing up. Speilberg, a gifted director, has to get away from these dark, sinister attempts, just like the disasterous A.I., Speilberg tries so damn hard, using all the tricks and gimmicks available to him and even though it LOOKS good, it's slick and glossy and impressive, these dark, moody films of his never seem ORGANIC, they never seem to be coming from a real place within him. I mean, for crissakes, look at his logo for Dreamworks, a Tom Sawyerish boy sits on the moon with his fishin' pole???? I mean - how 1950's and sweet is that? THAT'S Speilberg - that's what he knows, that is what makes his heart beat, that's why he can hit a home run with E.T. and Indiana Jones, etc. They're fun and breezy. But his last two attempts to make these dark, brooding adult sci-fi films just seem like weak singles into shallow left field. In the long run, they're empty and hollow. All flash, no substance. (Oh, and a horrid cartoonish performance by Tim Blake Nelson as the wheelchair bound tech assistant - he seemed to be performing in a Coen Brothers film. Sheesh!!!)