I didn't know anything about Vincenzo
Natali’s Cypher going into it, and
because of that, it wasn't much of a disappointment. Since it's one of those
all-too-common sci-fi-mindfuck-neo-noirs, it's probably best to go into it
blind, but I'm not sure that that even helps much in this case. A rather
humorless affair from the director of the brilliantly high-concept, but
ultimately half-baked Cube, the film
features Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu in a tangled plot in which, predictably,
Nothing Is What It Seems. Owing more than a small debt to The Matrix ("If you want answers, take the shot," the
hypodermic-brandishing Morpheus-cum-Charlie's
Angel Liu commands at one point), it fails to live up to even that middling
film by neither providing its genuinely entertaining action pyrotechnics nor
improving on its mishmash of supposedly mind-blowing ideas. Though there are
some small pleasures to be had in watching Norton transform from geek to suave
mystery man as he becomes increasingly involved in the plots of monolithic
corporations, the actor’s relatively bland demeanor makes it feel like a less
than total conversion.
Like most of these corporate espionage
flicks, everyone quickly begins double crossing everyone else, and like most of
them, it stops making sense from time to time. Still, since Cypher is so slow paced, there is plenty of time for even the
slowest audience members to play catch-up. Visually, it starts out as somewhat
inspired, replacing the shadows and rain of old noir films with silhouettes
created by excessive backlighting and storms created by a car wash. Utilizing a
reduced color palate, the film has intriguing moments, such as when an overhead
shot from a great distance reduces suburbia into a grid that resembles a
computer motherboard. As the lead character descends further into his madness,
though, director Natali whips out clichés like Vaseline-smeared and fisheye
lenses to demonstrate his slipping grip on sanity. Before long, you’re likely
to find yourself pining for old-fashioned film noir instead of this
“improvement”. With the exception of Strange
Days and Abre los Ojos, this
techno-thriller genre isn’t one that I've been able to embrace. Cypher gives me no real reason to change that stance. I liked it
during the scenes when something “cool” was being revealed on screen, but
the moment that “cool” ended, my interest waned. For all of the flaws that
they contain, it’s tough not to agree that The
Matrix movies are much cooler than this.
I didn't know anything about Vincenzo
Natali’s Cypher going into it, and
because of that, it wasn't much of a disappointment. Since it's one of those
all-too-common sci-fi-mindfuck-neo-noirs, it's probably best to go into it
blind, but I'm not sure that that even helps much in this case. A rather
humorless affair from the director of the brilliantly high-concept, but
ultimately half-baked Cube, the film
features Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu in a tangled plot in which, predictably,
Nothing Is What It Seems. Owing more than a small debt to The Matrix ("If you want answers, take the shot," the
hypodermic-brandishing Morpheus-cum-Charlie's
Angel Liu commands at one point), it fails to live up to even that middling
film by neither providing its genuinely entertaining action pyrotechnics nor
improving on its mishmash of supposedly mind-blowing ideas. Though there are
some small pleasures to be had in watching Norton transform from geek to suave
mystery man as he becomes increasingly involved in the plots of monolithic
corporations, the actor’s relatively bland demeanor makes it feel like a less
than total conversion.
Like most of these corporate espionage
flicks, everyone quickly begins double crossing everyone else, and like most of
them, it stops making sense from time to time. Still, since Cypher is so slow paced, there is plenty of time for even the
slowest audience members to play catch-up. Visually, it starts out as somewhat
inspired, replacing the shadows and rain of old noir films with silhouettes
created by excessive backlighting and storms created by a car wash. Utilizing a
reduced color palate, the film has intriguing moments, such as when an overhead
shot from a great distance reduces suburbia into a grid that resembles a
computer motherboard. As the lead character descends further into his madness,
though, director Natali whips out clichés like Vaseline-smeared and fisheye
lenses to demonstrate his slipping grip on sanity. Before long, you’re likely
to find yourself pining for old-fashioned film noir instead of this
“improvement”. With the exception of Strange
Days and Abre los Ojos, this
techno-thriller genre isn’t one that I've been able to embrace. Cypher gives me no real reason to change that stance. I liked it
during the scenes when something “cool” was being revealed on screen, but
the moment that “cool” ended, my interest waned. For all of the flaws that
they contain, it’s tough not to agree that The
Matrix movies are much cooler than this.