Virtuosity

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Jack M The Matrix with a serial killer. Delightfully unhinged, very 90's, excellent cast, but some parts of the simplistic story don't make sense. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/14/25 Full Review Audience Member While this is set in what is supposed to be in the realistic future- the story behind Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington's character) is gripping and tells his story of tragedy in dramatic form. It also shows us how tech can be corrupted in a next gen way letting loose a villain like Sid 6.7 (Russel Crowe's character) and how tough it would be to supposedly put him "back in the box". Also- Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco makes an appearance in this movie as Madison Carter's (Kelly Lynch's character's) daughter and Parker is sent on a mission to rescue her at the end of the movie. I give this movie 3.5/5 stars- because while the story is great for a 1990's action/sci-fi crime film- you have to admit- there still seems like something is missing. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/19/25 Full Review Brad M So terribly dated and dumb, that it's awesome! Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review Charles T Three Oscar winners- Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Louise Fletcher- are completely wasted in this high tech shoot-'em-up. Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington) is a cop convicted of murder and serving time. He becomes a guinea pig in some virtual reality testing involving capturing SID 6.7, a computer combination of over 200 criminals. SID's evil programmer releases SID (Russell Crowe) into the real world, and Barnes is released long enough to track him down. He must also drag along Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch), who spends most of her screen time trying to keep up with Barnes. Barnes finds out SID is also programmed with the behavior of the man really responsible for Barnes' family's demise, making the entire thing "personal." Carter's daughter is kidnapped by SID, and the finale takes place during a live TV/internet broadcast in a high rise building. Louise Fletcher is not given anything to do as an executive with the company that created SID. Crowe has the right physical look, but the screenwriter unwisely gave SID a bunch of unfunny one liners to utter during all the mayhem. A mass killer has not made this many stupid comments since the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. Washington, trying to corner the market on 1990's serial killer trackers (see also "Fallen" and "The Bone Collector"), is okay as the killing cop. He tries to turn this into more than an action film, but his character is not there. Brett Leonard, of "The Lawnmower Man" and the bad "Hideaway," finally finds another movie to use his trademark computer special effects in. The effects are okay, but are constantly undermined and drowned out by all the bloodshed. The screenwriter makes bad plot decisions just so he can move his story along, not because they make sense- SID's programmer releases SID because he is mad. SID can regenerate himself with glass, SID is not really drawn to any of the other real-life killers he has been programmed with, just the one Barnes has flashbacks about. I thought SID would be like a superhuman serial killer, leaving other real life killers' clues in his path, but we get a passing Charles Manson mention, and that is it. There is more broken glass in this film than "Another 48 HRS", the previous broken glass film champion. Some fun almost comes in the climax, as Barnes pursues SID, and in turn is pursued by the cops for a crime SID framed him for. The film is ten minutes too long, as we must sit through Carter's daughter's scenes, which feels tacked on to the end. Yes, the computer effects are pretty good. Crowe is as good as he can be considering the script, but Leonard does not build any momentum in his direction. His camera is everywhere, but he wastes his talents on a screenplay that lumbers toward inevitability in every scene. In the climax, as SID takes over a TV broadcast to kill on the air, we see the viewership increase- one medium telling me how awful another medium is. I do not need a violent film to tell me there is too much violence on TV and the internet. That would be like a porn actress telling me women are used as sexual objects in strip clubs. Take away all the bells and whistles, and carnage and explosions, and you have an average film dressed up with a good cast. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/12/25 Full Review Steve D Shockingly inept given Washington's solid (as always) work. Terrible idea for a film. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Jeffrey P If you told me this was the main inspiration for The Matrix I would not be surprised. In addition to The Matrix, we've seen numerous films dealing with this subject in the last twenty years. With okay action and two Oscar winners engaged in a game of cat & mouse, the absurdity still cannot be hidden due to a few holes. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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