I'm ambivilent

Rating: Null/10 (12 January 2002)

Spoilers.
Have you ever seen that skit on Letterman called `Is That Anything'? What happens is the curtain rises to reveal someone doing something odd (like spinning giant balls with their feet while standing on their head) and Dave and Paul Schaffer discuss whether it was something of substance or mere bagatelle. It is the ultimate in subjective self-awareness (even if it is ironic and a tad silly). After viewing this film I feel like I just watched one of those skits and am ambivalent about my impressions. I'm simply just not sure if this a surreal piece de resistance or turbid mess.
I liked the opening dream sequence where Cruise is running through the deserted city streets and I liked the odd musical juxtapositions against the incongruous happenings on the screen. I even liked Penelope Cruz and thought she was very sexy after being so annoyed by her in the last film in which I saw her (`Blow'). And I am eternally infatuated with Cameron Diaz. But the real reason I think I may like this flick is the concepts of athanasia and solipsism that it tackles. It's only natural to want to live forever and I've long had a fantasy about technology creating a super virtual reality, where you are strapped in a bed, your mind accessed and a world of your choosing induced. A kind of `living faÃ§ade' if you will.
At this point I feel this is a good movie, but I'm not sure it is a great one (a great one being defined as one I would purchase for repeated viewings). And I'm not convinced that it is as clever as it tries to be. Perhaps one day when I am channel surfing and it is on, or when a friend invites me to watch it I will see it again and decide.