eXistenZ

Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Eccleston, Sarah Polley
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Action
Box Office: $
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is the world's top game designer. During a test of the latest version of the system, there is an attempt on her life. A PR agent (Jude Law) helps her escape and the two go on the run. Now, they must escape those hunting her while trying to figure out what is wrong with her gaming system- and to do this, they must boot up into the virtual reality world.

Review:

Tim: First of all, this is one of the worst movie titles in recent memory. The name is hard to pronounce (is it pronounced existence or ex-i-stance?) and it involves that awful phenomenon of capitalizing random letters. Ugh. That being said, I was expecting a pretty silly movie. It is true that director David Cronenberg is far from a masterpiece here, but it isn't a complete disaster.

The story is actually pretty interesting. The plot makes you question what is real, as the lines between the virtual world and the real world begin to blur (this might sound similar to the plot of another film released the same year, the far, far, far superior The Matrix. I did my best to not compare this film to that one, because the comparison is laughable). This does account for some decent scenes, and we as the audience are constantly wondering if we are watching some real or simulated. This keeps us on our toes.

The cast works surprisingly wel bringing the story to life. Jennifer Jason Leigh is quite good as Allegra Geller. I'm not a huge fan of her, but she was enjoyable in this role. Jude Law also puts in a good performance, and he works well with Leigh. The supporting cast of Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, and Christopher Eccleston all add good, smaller performances.

One of the big attractions of this movie is that it is just so different from most movies out there. While the parallels with The Matrix are a little too close for comfort, this movie is still fairly unique. That is always refreshing. However, the movie also strays a big too far into the crazy and surreal. The idea of the BioPort, and how it plugs into the user's spinal column. This is pretty odd to see on screen, and quite frankly, a bit disgusting. That is typical Cronenberg fashion. The movie is actually incredibly confusing. While it starts to make sense at the end, we're left scratching our heads for the majority of the film.

eXistenZ (I still shudder at the name) is an interesting sci-fi movie, but not one that is particularly impactful. It has some memorable scenes, but will forever be lost in the shadow of that superior film I've mentioned several times. I didn't hate the film, but I couldn't completely like it, either.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Matrix, Gattaca, The Wizard