Movies

The first great film for Russell Crowe, and a very interesting film to say the least. Cyber culture is rarely ever depicted in movies, but this was one of those films which brought some of these underground tendencies to light. What was even more interesting was how evil Sid 6.7 was. Crowe did an excellent job of portraying the demented cyber villain. I especially liked Denzel Washington, who always manages to be believable in his role when he doesn't try to be a ‘soul brotha.' Granted, the cinematography was pretty average as well as the music, but then again, the performance of the two main stars really made this film a winner.

You can't help but like Crowe's gleeful portrayal of a schizophrenic nano-bot serial killer in this ridiculous film, and with futuristic fascists, pervey programmers and a bucket loads of virtual reality cyber nonsense, this should really be a winner in the style of The Demolition Man or the Robocop series. But where other films in the genre have used such tools as wit and plot to keep the more intelligent of the viewers amused, this film, um, hasn't.The script is terrible. The acting (excluding Crowe, who only gets away with it thanks to a camp smile and some fortunate direction) is wooden. And the plot is illogical and frustrating.

Despite negative reviews, I thought "Virtuosity" would be a fun film. I like Denzel Washington, and it seemed to have a decent plot, that though it seemed silly, I thought would explain itself better in the film. I even thought the film would be good despite Russell Crowe's presence (I think he's full of himself). Unfortunately, "Virtuosity" offered nothing but misdirection, a poorly contrived script and really bad editing. Not to mention a ridiculous plot that did not explain itself and attempt to make any sense. Whether the creators of the film thought they would have the next "Terminator" or "Fugitive," "Virtuosity" ultimately does not deliver anywhere near one would expect. A complete disappointment: 1.5/5 stars --John Ulmer