Alex Proyas, 2004
4.5
this was just a horrible, horrible mess. simply horrible. only the art direction, Bridget Moynahan, and one fight sequence made this film barely passable for me. (Alex, was Dark City a fluke?) goddamn was this flick annoying (the entire idiotic first act itself looked like it was payed for by Converse, Audi, and JVC). and sitting right at the top was Will Smith, out-annoying himself right from the start by protraying an appallingly bland cop trying to act charming but only succeeding in making the character incredibly flat and highly annoying instead. i haven't hated a performance, or a movie, as much as mr Smith's and this film in a long, long time. i'm serious. i knew going in this was an action movie, and i was prepared for that, but i was also under the impression that there would be a subversive nature underlying it all because of Asimov's story (btw, the credits read "suggested by the Isaac Asimov book". how fucking lame is that? you know something's amiss when the film is not even credited as being "inspired by" the original story it's based on). sometimes you do get glimpses of Asimov's genius and his philosophical quest, but then a sharp quip or some useless Matrix rip-off shot would just snap you right back to hollywood blockbuster mode. the material was there, this could have turned out amazing and original, but it looks like everyone decided they would be better off making a dumb Will Smith popcorn movie instead. horrible. just horrible.
Posted by Anonymous | 9:07 PM
