The Thirteenth Floor

Starring: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert
Directed by: Josef Rusnak
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A computer scientist (Craig Bierko) on a project involving the creation of an alternate reality simulation is drawn into a mystery when his mentor (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is killed after trying to leave him an important message about the world they have created.

Review:

Tim: The Thirteenth Floor is a pretty fascinating film, partially for the story, and partially for when the film came out. This is a decent movie that features a few mind-bending twists. It's a very cool look at alternate realities in computer-generated worlds. What's so interesting is that this movie happened to come out at the same time as The Matrix, a film that tackles a very similar subject matter, and also happens to be a legitimate classic science fiction film that changed the way Hollywood made movies. It's also one of my all time favorite films. That film casts a very dark shadow, and The Thirteenth Floor gets completely lost there. This is a bit of a forgotten film.

Now, you can't blame everything on The Matrix. This is a decent film with some truly promising ideas, but it drops the ball a bit on the execution. The special effects are average, and not impressive in the least. This isn't a huge issue, but the movie felt a bit cheap. The budget was too small for a film with a story like this. The movie was also a bit unbalanced. There were some terrific, exciting moments. There were also quite a few moments that felt like they came out of a cheap made-for-television sci-fi movie. That's not a good combination.

The cast was also a bit B-level for my taste. I don't know who Craig Bierko is, but the guy has almost no acting ability. He was a horrible choice for the lead role. His inability to connect with the audience sank this film. I don't think I liked anything about his performance. He looked the part, but every time he opened his mouth, I cringed. He was really, really bad.

I really do like Gretchen Mol, and I thought she was pretty good here. She doesn't have enough screen time, though. Armin Mueller-Stahl was a nice addition to the cast. I also really liked Vincent D'Onofrio here. He is such a creepy guy, but this film allowed him to play some different things. That was a nice to see. I really like Dennis Haysbert, and I though he gave a strong supporting performance. The cast have their moments, but as a whole, they're a bit lackluster.

The story here is pretty good. There are some legitimately cool twists and turns, and a few shocking developments. This is a script with some good, intelligent ideas. Unfortunately, not all of these ideas reach their full potential. There's a few huge twists, but the movie doesn't utilize these to their full potential. I was impressed, but my mind wasn't blown. I liked the individual elements throughout the film, but they were not put together extremely well.

In the end, I'd have to say that I had a decent time watching The Thirteenth Floor. There's some very cool moments, some interesting twists, and some lofty ideas about life, reality, and technology. While none of these themes get anywhere close to those discussed in The Matrix. This film deserves to get lost a little, because it's average in too many ways. I still enjoyed this, but not nearly as much as I should have.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Matrix