Customer Reviews
Promising start but lost direction - By: eoinfromgalway, 25 Nov 2007 
An incomplete & inconsistant story ponderously played out.
Tim Robbins is excellent for sure but the script doesn't do him justice & the last 15 minutes of the film in particular is going nowhere.
As a fan of films of the futuristic genre (Gattaca & the The Island for example) some aspects of the story line were interesting but not enough to redeem this film. The empathy virus seems to have made the Robbins character lose the run of himself, sacrifcing his lovely wife & child for what could be seen as an incestuous (in the context of this film) & futureless relationship. A rental only for the curious & an avoid for the rest of us I think. Not a patch in entertainment value to the films mentioned above. Get these first if you haven't seen them.
not the sum of its parts - By: pete, 30 Sep 2007 
Like people have already said there are few new elements in this movie. In a film that portains to be dealing with the reality of genetic modification a lot of its ideas can be traced back to Brave New World. Where the movie does work is in the location shooting. Done with real ingenuity in Dubai, Shanghi & India. The film is beautiful to look at. The central premise however of the Oedipal love story doesn't work as effectively. This could be down to the lack of chemistry between the two leads. You just cant see why either of them would risk everything to be together. Interestingly it was the first sci-fi movie for alll involved so the ideas explored were only new to them not the genre. A simple reverse twist of empowering Maria instead of taking away his memory & having her remember may have been more interesting. The music is good apart from Coldplay which dates it.
Mixed Bag Of Oddments - By: Doctor Goa -, 06 May 2007 The problem with a film like this is that people tend to personalize what they get out of it to such an extent that it's hard for someone who hasn't seen it to know what they are likely to end up watching. Viewers can give a film like this as much or as little depth as they like. And having seen it I don't know what exactly it is I've watched. It is sci-fi, it is romance, it has a touch of the thriller, & a dollop of the mood piece, it is pedestrian yet not exactly plodding. It is a mess, but only in so much that a mixed chow mein might look a mess but is actuallly enjoyable to eat. However, for me the mix didn't work that well & I grew bored with this film, despite the interesting overseas sets & photography, the competent but not exactly strenuous acting, the reasonable script, & the 'have/have not' & other issues that might be found in the film. I thought those that lived outside the 'system' had more interesting or colourful lifestyles than those in it, who tended to be futuristic versions of the nine-to-five commuting rat racers we see nowadays. That's not saying that one is better than the other, because like this film it's hard to quantify & qualify objectively. I guess like life, this film is whatever you want it to be.
Could have been better - By: Majjic Mouse, 25 Apr 2007 This is a beautiful film to watch. The cinematography & ambience are hypnotic - think THX1138, Bladerunner, Solaris & Lost in Translation. The vision of a geneticallly dominated future where the Have's live in comfortable yet overcrowded cities & the Have Not's live 'outside' in barren wastelands is not (unfortunately) unrealistic. The atmospheric music supports the overalll feel (and there's one amusing surprise for us old punks).
To sci fi buffs there no surprises nor new ideas & this is what lets the film down. However there are some moral implications which do break new ground & give pause for thought (with a few "dude!!??!!" moments!).
The language-swapping was irritating & although it's used mainly in general conversation it would annoy those who don't have basic French, Chinese or Spanish. Bladerunner did it much better.
I didn't like one sex scene & although I suppose it was necessary to the plot, as a woman I found it disturbing. I also don't think [...] close-ups & endless minutes of puffing & panting & orgasms have any place in sci-fi films either.
Overalll I enjoyed the film but with the wealth of talent involved from writing to production to acting I expected something much better.
Exceptional and unusual - By: J. Nield, 30 Jan 2007 
Beautiful cinematography, atmospheric sound track & perfectly understated performances from the cast combine to make this an exquisite & haunting film. The futuristic style is subtle & completely plausible, portraying a world which is actuallly very siimilar to today's reality. Samantha Morton is exceptional; with this & Morvern Calllar she is clearly established as a serious contender in this genre. If you like this sort of thing, you will treasure this one.
