Deep haunting moving examination of Reality, Illusion, Truth and Dreams

Rating: 9/10 (30 March 2013)

I'm frankly mystified at the powerful negative reactions this movie arouses- I think it is one of the best science fiction and meaning of life movies ever! Reviewers raved about the sterile AI but pretty much ignored this gem, which packs a deep emotional impact, especially to those who lived through the 60's (Crowe has woven in 60's-70's photos and music with the consummate skill of a Madison Ave wizard), but the simple and incredibly potent dilemma is this: If you have the ability to live in a seamless fantasy world of illusion... or the shattered reality of your broken dreams.... which would you choose? It embodies the literate moral quandary that all great sci-fi has, and truth be told- probably won't remain fiction for 70 years. At some point they will develop neural interfaces that allow people to be jacked into computers and experience artificial "life"- at first it will be sex fantasies, of course. But eventually, simulations will get better and better till people can choose to live their very lives in the Matrix (to, ah, coin a phrase). If drug addiction is bad now, imagine how far people would drop out with such an option.
VS is sometimes melodramatic and visually garish, but one must realize- that FITS- it is ALL a creation of Cruise's mind, and he is choosing cloud colors from Monet's paintings and theatrical drama, just as we do in our dreams. What is the reality of this movie? Is it all a coma-induced dream, or is he really living the Lucid Dreams of the cryogenic company he signed up with. Huge themes of immortality, eternal youth, true love, man's penchant for destruction and psychological sabotage jockey around for position- people that panned this movie are soulless nerds with no sense of curiosity about any of this. Life is a mystery and this ventures to ask some Big Questions.
Another classic theme is someone who has it all (Cruise inherits an empire), loses it all, them gains it all back- so there's a lot of pathos there, letting Tommy play the gamut from smug radiant winner to broken loser- he can be a great actor when pushed (Born on the 4th of July) and he's far better here than most of his roles.
Cameron Diaz is simply terrifying here- frankly her unhinged wild lustiness always gave me the creeps- this is exactly what I imagined her capable of- an obsessed deranged Fatal Atraction ex, and her reappearances are as shocking as the best horror flicks. Penelope Cruz is a little too Betty Boop cute and adorable here, though Tom liked her enough to do a corporate merger (they should have picked a 3rd spelling of their name- Crooz?), while Jason Lee plays the angry aggressive friend a little too broadly.
If you've never seen it, DO. It is a preview of our future.