The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) has developed SID version 6.7: a Sadistic, Intelligent, and Dangerous virtual reality entity which is synthesized from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers. LETAC would like to train police officers by putting them in VR with SID, but they must prove the concept by using prisoners as test subjects. One such prisoner is ex-cop Parker Barnes. When SID manages to inject his personality into a nano-machine android, it appears that Barnes might be the only one who can stop him. When a virtual reality simulation created using the personalities of multiple serial killers manages to escape into the real world, an ex-cop is tasked with stopping its reign of terror. My impression of this movie may be tainted by the fact that I saw it ten years ago and was fairly crazy myself at the time.<br/><br/>I thought it was an intriguing, stylistic masterpiece of a psycho thriller. Russell Crowe does a brilliant job as SID 6.7, essentially cementing his prowess in morphing into multiple personalities on camera. No wonder he's so sought after these days.<br/><br/>Though SID is maniacal, he draws you in as you just want to see what he'll do next. The symphony of screams was brilliantly psychotic. SID's absolute menace makes you either hate him or love him for his sly evil.<br/><br/>Denzel Washington does an always solid job as the opposite of SID. He's a disreputable cop trying to get his good name back.<br/><br/>They parry repeatedly in scenes which become less memorable than when SID holds the limelight alone. The ending is predictable but fun, and well worth sticking around for.<br/><br/>If you ever wanted to root for the antagonist, this is the film for you. Way back in 1996, I rented this movie from the videostore. I got maybe 23 minutes in, and shut it off. Why? Was it a bad movie? In a sense, no. It was not bad. Let's just say I was led down a maze of complex logic, and I got lost in translation, and simply put, I had no idea what was going on. Fast forward 22 years. I recently rented this from Amazon ( can Amazon pick at least one thing, and not dominate it? Just asking), and boy, this did not age well. Now I am watching this film stone cold sober, and still have no idea what I just watched. Sad part is, is that the film is quite interesting, despite its…uh, how do I dare say…its flaws. It involves virtual reality, mixed with loads of dark humor, unusual suspense, and insanity. I don't like this movie, but I don't hate it either. Just because I can't understand a film from a point of view they're trying to get you to see it through, does not make this a 2 star movie. On a negative side, I'd rate this a 4 star movie. However, because the things that work in the film tip the scale on the things that don't work, I'm giving it a 6. ( I can't spoil anything without revealing the things that do and don't work. I hope none of the other reviews spoiled it.) To shoot you straight, in 2018, this movie is just a silly parade of nonsense, and not even Crowe or Washington can save this from a bad act. I wouldn't mind seeing this as a remake. The story needed work. Do you guys hear me? Identify what went wrong with this, fix it, and remake it. Stop remaking movies that aren't broke. ( Yeah! I'm looking at you, Footloose 2011. Come to think of it, I think I'll review you next.) 6 out of 10. Oh, by the way, don't try to figure anything out. Just watch. Watch. That's all you got to do. Watch. The presence of Washington lends the picture a much-needed dose of authenticity. But in the end Virtuosity is disconnected and uninvolving, despite – or maybe because of – a climax that comes in three distinct waves. One section seems to be a half-hour sound-and-light show.
Janichene replied
327 weeks ago