eXistenZ

What happens when you get a video gamer to write a screenplay? Although I can hardly be sure that this movie was written by a video gamer, it certainly feels like it. The dialogue is awful, the characters are flat, and the premise is a combination of thought-provoking and silly.

First, the bad: the props are ridiculous. The special effects are weak. The science behind it all is nonexistent. Don't even try to figure out the logic behind it all; trying to match real world logic to this movie is like trying to hook up an American toaster to a European electrical socket.

Now, the good. Yes, it does have Jude Law in it, although he doesn't really have much to do. It also kept me thinking. I did have to be quite generous with my interpretation and extrapolation, but all in all, this film can be an excellent way to get an interesting conversation going among a good bunch of people, and for that alone I'd suggest it.

The basic plot, such as there is, involves a video-game designer and the man who ends up having to protect her from an anti-video game conspiracy. You see, video games are so real in this movie that some people want to destroy them outright, before they destroy real life with their simulated reality. You'll be able to guess most of the plot twists long before they happen, but that's fine if it makes you feel clever, as it did me. Although that's a little like feeling uber after beating an 8 year old in CounterStrike. I constantly had the feeling that the movie was written by a kid who was 15, tops. You'll know what I mean when you watch a particularly awkward love scene between the two main characters in which the game compels them to kiss! Saucy!

At the end of the movie, my reaction was, "Yeah, yeah, all right. I get it already." There are echoes of The Matrix here, but also a few original ideas, and some of the scenes are downright thought-inducing. Watch for Ian Holm speaking Hungarian badly, and the Hungarian word "isten" in the title of the film, relates to one of the film's themes: that technology allows us to be gods of our own worlds. Wikipedia agrees with me.