Not mind-blowing, but more fun than the other schlock

Rating: 9/10 (20 April 1999)

Like many others, I thought the action was a lot of fun, with great visuals and wonderful John Woo-style "ballet of bullets" sequences. I thought the various chase scenes and showdowns were well integrated with the plot, and flowed seamlessly, with nothing I noticed in the way of obvious plot-continuity errors.
However, for anyone out there thinking this movie is really DEEP, philosophically speaking, and ORIGINAL, in terms of plot scenario, must not have progressed passed the "midnight bong sessions" stage of their education. Come on people, characters asking "have you ever felt like you don't know the difference between what is real and what is a dream?" is very run-of-the-mill in the sci-fantasy genre, as is much of the rest of the movie.
Also, as for cinematic originality, this stuff has nothing on, say, Terry Gilliam, Ridley Scott, or any of a number of other people. They seem to have borrowed and innovated all over the place, in terms of visuals, plot devices, action sequences, and special effects.
BUT HEY, they did a DAMN GOOD JOB OF THAT, so I say, why not? So don't get me wrong--I think this movie is great fun and sufficiently original that it deserves its popularity, but think it's just plain wrong to declare this the "Best Movie Ever".