Stupendous special effects, great action flick, the audience clapped at the end.

Rating: 9/10 (3 April 1999)

This movie is about as close to a William Gibson (science fiction Hugo award winning) cyberpunk novel put on a screen as one could imagine. It's not written by Gibson, but seems like it could have been. The virtual reality is almost perfect.
I had read that the plot was thin and the middle third slow. The plot is just fine for an action film and the pacing throughout was just right in my opinion. I wish it had been longer. I hope it makes a fortune so more like it will be produced.
My eleven year old son and his friend also thought it was great. My son's first comment was; "Dad, we have to get this video when it comes out." I agreed. To put that in context, when we saw "Wing Commander", his comment was - "That sure was boring."
The movie is rated R and there's quite a bit of video arcade/action style violence. There is also a scene at the beginning that I thought might produce nightmares for a kid - shoot, maybe even for an adult. So don't take children much younger than 11 or children who you do not want exposed to violence.
The evil guy, Mr. Smith, is nearly perfect for the role and the role is just right for the movie. Kudos also to the two lead actors and actress. Actually, a lady who shows up in the middle of the movie pretty much steals the scene she's in.