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210 reviews in total

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122 out of 154 people found the following review useful:
Mindblowing experience and the best millennium movie of them all, 26 May 2003

Author: Mika Pykäläaho (bygis80@hotmail.com) from Järvenpää, Finland

When I first saw "Point break" I thought that Kathryn Bigelow made the only action masterpiece of her career but there she was only four years later with a magnificent story written by James Cameron and an unforgettable classic called "Strange days". Ralph Fiennes has never been as cool as he was when the guy played Lenny Nero and Juliette Lewis was almost too sexy to be true. The whole movie is a remarkable experience. I saw it couple of days after the turning of 2000 and I was totally stunned because I expected a silly little b-scifi flick. What I got was a powerful first rate mystery thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole bloody time. I just recently watched it again and was afraid that the movie would let me down when I've seen it once but on the contrary, like wine this one only got better with age. What a shame "Strange days" never got the recognition it obviously deserves. This is a cult movie, at best, but the fact that it doesn't have a placing in the IMDb top 250 is a huge injustice. Definitely the best of all millennium movies. 10/10

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85 out of 110 people found the following review useful:
"Are we impressed yet?", 12 January 2000

Author: The_Movie_Cat from England

The answer being, of course, yes I am impressed.

What a thoroughly enjoyable film Strange Days is. Fast-moving and occasionally violent, it's not high art but then neither is it dumbed-down fodder and it has much to commend it. The central plot revolves around an ex-cop (Fiennes, doing a - to my ears anyway - convincing American accent) peddling FBI technology on the black market. The SQUID technology (Super conducting QUantum Interface Device) electronically absorbs information from the central cortex and allows users to experience the thrill of another's sensations - be it murder, sex, robbery, etc. Of course, this central idea, while fascinating, does derive pretty much directly from a Twilight Zone episode. Were this a "classic" Zone episode from the b/w era, then people would have picked it up straight away and the game would be over. As it is, the inspiration comes from one of the colour Twilight Zone episodes which had even less viewers than Strange Days and so the movie can rest assured it is safe in obscurity. (Give up? Okay, it was episode 23, season three, 1989, "The Mind of Simon Foster". I'm an anorak, I know these things).

But whether such were intentional is pretty much irrelevant as the magpie technique of this film takes from many texts and builds something greater than the parts. One of the two greatest science fiction films of the 90s - the other being the excellent "Twelve Monkeys" - both have built-in sell-by dates by fixing their time period in a very near locale. Hence while the supposed date of Monkeys is long past at 98, this film now becomes a historical document as of New Year's Eve 1999. But then does it follow that we will stop watching 2001 in 2002? Hopefully not, and Strange Days is one that too deserves to be revisited in years to come.

The reason why I commend it most is its rewarding political stance. The development that gets adhered onto the "Squid" plot directly references the beating of Rodney King. Such contemporary referencing may again date it as quickly as the '99 setting, but then we also have Angela Bassett as a very empowered, yet caring black woman. Note how she and Lenny have exchanged traditional gender roles in this film, yet this feels not like some "macho woman" schtick but genuine characterisation. Lenny is a likeable, wisetalking street peddler who spends the film as a human punchbag. Gone is the cliched jaw-breaking action man role for him, instead his only retort to violence is "I'll give you my Rolex". This sense of, if you like, PC-ness, can also be evidenced with the lesbian couple kissing as the year 2000 breaks, or the (one scene only, admittedly) appearance of a disabled man as a central character.

However, the boundary-pushing elements of this movie are tainted by the appearance of Juliet Lewis in the film. A capable actress, her only role appears to be as a receptacle for various men's sexual needs or to gratuitously expose her breasts on multiple occasions. This is a great shame, and a pity that a film which has such high intentions in almost every other area should fall back on unfortunate portrayal.

The dialogue is pitched just about right without being particularly clever, though occasionally it stalls. "You're like a goddamn cruise missile, targetted on making it", Fiennes tells Faith (Lewis) at one point, managing to keep a straight face. Later, Bassett must endure having to say "These are used emotions. It's time to trade them in" and not use her gun on the scriptwriter. When the credits do roll, it's perhaps no surprise that James Cameron was the co-writer, as its slight perfunctory, by-the-numbers stance often reminds one of the machinations of "Titanic". Tom Sizemore as Max is every inch the one-dimensional Cameron "character", while plot twists sometimes feel heavily engineered. Maybe Jay Cocks is responsible for the script's more "human" feel, with particular note going to the moral debate of whether or not to expose the LAPD's murder of an influential black rapper. The two leads debate (internally, as well as verbally, a first for a Cameron movie) the implications and the possible consequences of such an action. Despite its flirtation with the mainstream, Strange Days is a film that dares to pervert the traditional course of Hollywood into a future that is worth seeing. Perhaps predictably, it made little impact at the box office.

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78 out of 98 people found the following review useful:
Terrific science fiction offering., 17 May 2003
Author: Jonathon Dabell (barnaby.rudge@hotmail.co.uk) from Todmorden, England

Strange Days is a truly astonishing science fiction offering, part scripted by James Cameron and directed with relentless panache by maverick lady-director Kathryn Bigelow. It presents a depressing and bleak, yet worryingly probable, view of the near future, and hooks its story threads upon the impending millennium eve celebrations. Although December 31st, 1999, has been and gone since the making of this movie, it is a credit to the makers that this film still offers a plausible viewpoint about where the world might be at in the next decade or so.

Ralph Fiennes seems initially miscast, but soon wins over the audience as Lenny Nero, a sleazy racketeer who sells "memories" captured on some form of disk, similar to virtual reality but recorded from real experiences rather than computerised ones. He is desperately trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend Faith (Juliette Lewis), but she doesn't want him as she has hooked up with a music producer named Philo (Michael Wincott). Lenny acquires two disturbing tapes, one showing the rape and murder of a woman, the other showing a racially motivated slaying, and before he knows it he is on the run from the culprits who want to kill him before he exposes their crimes. The only person he can trust is his best friend, lady bodyguard Mace (Angela Bassett). To complicate matters further, his ex-girlfriend Faith seems to know something about the disks, and may either be involved in the crimes or at great risk from those responsible.

Bassett is the real star here, in the role of a lifetime as a morally strong and physically stronger heroine. Lewis plays the same old white trash girl she has played many times, but at least she has the experience to bring total conviction to the role. The production values are incredibly high, especially the party at the end which seems to realistically convey an entire city celebrating in the streets. The plot unfolds slowly, but this is a strength rather than a criticism. Each new development slots into place beautifully, and the audience is given time to get into the characters and the situations (which, in too many movies, we are not allowed to do since the pace is often too frenetic).

Strange Days is challenging and aggressive and frequently disturbing. It is also inventive and exciting and ingeniously staged. It is simply a terrific science film which any devotee of the genre absolutely must see.

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85 out of 121 people found the following review useful:
Sizzling Sci-Fi/Action Thriller, 15 October 1999

Author: The_Core from Seattle, WA. USA

"Strange Days" literally has something for everyone. Science fiction, violence, peace, romance, comedy, tragedy, action, you name it -- it's in this film, and it's done with class and intelligence. I agree that this one is destined to become a cult classic. However, be prepared for one of the edgiest, most violent and emotionally exhausting films you've ever seen (the first three minutes of the film make it very clear what you can expect from the rest). There are at least five climactic scenes toward the end, which must break some kind of record. After the movie's over, you may feel like you've just been cooked in a vat of boiling oil... but luckily, you'll be perfectly well-done, not burned to a crisp. 10/10.

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55 out of 75 people found the following review useful:
One of my all time faves!, 15 March 2001
Author: Daywalker from Germany

Unfortunately, this film failed at the box-offices, although it´s one of the greatest masterpieces of the 90s. The first time I saw "Strange Days" was about five years ago, and then over and over again. If you think Ralph Fiennes is only able to play sensitive and problematic characters watch this: it´s his most unusual, but one of the best performances in his career - a performance of a coolness you only would expect from Samuel L. Jackson. Angela Bassett is one of the toughest women cinema has ever seen and Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Glenn Plummer, William Fichtner - every single role is casted perfectly...

"Strange Days" is thriller, drama and big city ballad in one piece. I can´t remember any movie that reflects the philosophy of life of Generation X better than this one. Lenny deals with the "Squids" which are the experiences and emotions of men saved on a mini disc. Emotions as a product, a drug - a compensation of modern life for the growing loneliness and anonymity. The only possibility for weak persons like Lenny to feel real. A movie like "Fight Club" wouln´t have been possible without "Strange Days"; other releases like "The Cell" or even Scorsese´s "Bringing out the dead" copied the incomparable make. Although this film is older than six years it hasn´t lost anything explosive effects, what is connected with the video clip style this movie has, which gives "Strange Days" a touch of being ageless. The two most brilliant scenes are the opening sequence - the robbery in the Chinese restaurant - and the showdown down in the streets at the millenium party. Also the soundtrack (Deep Forest, Peter Gabriel, Skunk Anansia, Strange Fruit...) is one of the best I´ve ever heard, what makes "Strange Days" an unforgettable experience for every watcher. (10/10)

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47 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
Cameron wrote and it shows, 24 January 2000

Author: Anders Åslund (anders.aslund@xpress.se) from Karlstad, Sweden

Yep. It sure shows that Cameron has laid his hand on this film. It has a superb plot, great timing and a spectacular ending - one of the best ever, I might add.

Just about everything you see in this film adds to the momentum. Just look in the background. There is always something going on, someone getting arrested or stealing something or burning something... all of it enhances the doomsday feeling you get when watching.

I also find Fiennes' acting just short of perfect. His face, his gestures and his entire being reeks of the sordid life his character leads. To cast him was genius. Lewis, Sizemore, Bassett and Wincott perform excellently as well - but it's really Fiennes that just makes this film happen.

Do you want to see something unusual for a change? Do you long to see a believable sf-story for once, even despite the fact that the events of the film took place in 1999? And do you yearn for a sensational film made to make you really feel something? See Strange Days.

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39 out of 54 people found the following review useful:
Engaging, but Uneven, 3 July 2000

Author: diffusionx

Strange Days is an interesting film, with a great premise. It also happens to be well-executed, for the most part. The LA of the future (well, future back when it was released in 1995) is quite dystopian in nature, and Strange Days manages to present all facets of that using Taxi Driver-influenced car rides through the city while observing the chaos on the streets. In many ways, Strange Days manages to create a real-life and convincing future, and it feels like a true place, with things going on independently of the events in the movie, rather than feeling like a movie set.

Atmosphere aside, though, the movie has many strengths. The plot is intriguing, and it flows quite smoothly. A lot of the dialogue is really quite interesting and gives the movie a nice feel (not to mention the actors do a pretty good job with the material). The characters are three-dimension and interesting. While the beginning parts were somewhat disjointed (at least in terms of plot), they did serve as an excellent setup. When the movie was its best (during the middle parts) there is a frantic sense of urgency that really drives the picture along. It's a very entertaining movie, and it managed to form an emotional link with me - always a good sign.

Unfortunately, it kind of goes downhill after that. Strange Days ends up resorting to awfully cliche ideas, complete with plot elements seen a million times in movies before. All of this mars what could have been a real classic film. It's too bad that Cameron and Cocks had to resort back to this, since the movie has so many strengths and so many great things that it could have built on. While the movie is still above average, it just isn't as superb as it could have been. Nonetheless, Strange Days succeeds on many levels and is well worth watching.

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30 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
Strange, Imaginative, Underrated Film, 10 May 2001

Author: MadReviewer from Oldwick, NJ

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

`Strange Days', one of many films made in the mid- to late-1990s that chose to dabble in `the near future of the year 2000', not only still looks good in the year 2001, but holds its own as a darn good film. A mix of `Blade Runner' film noir and uncomfortable realism, `Strange Days' has the audacity to tackle some disturbing topics and to actually tell an interesting tale in the process.

Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is a black market peddler of VR films - memory implants that are downloaded directly into the brain, allowing a person to vicariously sample someone else's experiences. The VR chips are like drugs, as people find the shared virtual experiences far better than those they find in their own lives. Lenny, who's both dealer and addict, is jarred back into reality when one of his friends is killed in vicious fashion - and the experience is captured on a VR film. Lenny comes to believe that his ex-girlfriend Faith (Juliette Lewis) may be next on the killer's list, so he begins his own search for the killer, partly to prevent anything bad from happening to Faith . . . and partly to impress Faith, and possibly win her back.

Visually, `Strange Days' is terrific - it's hard to see how this film could be better in that department, even if James Cameron had directed the film himself. Some of the shots are astounding, such as a point-of-view clip of a man running along a rooftop and jumping to his death, then another simple clip of a woman on a date . . . it's part of a VR film `sampling', one that gives the audience a taste of why the characters in `Strange Days' think the films are so real, and so voyeuristic. Combine that with the way other things are filmed in `Strange Days' - the close-up look of Lenny's face as he samples past memories through VR films, the utter sweeping chaos of a riot as shot from high above - director Kathryn Bigalow creates a film that's visually mesmerizing. The designers and special effects guys really went to town, and should be given full credit for creating an outstanding, memorable look for `Strange Days'.

Ralph Fiennes is awesome as Lenny - he's scummy and underhanded enough to keep himself from ever being a true hero, but he imbues Lenny with enough affable charm and backbone to make him likeable nonetheless. The rest of the cast falls short of Fiennes' great performance, though - Angela Bassett is decent as limo driver/armed muscle Mace, but Juliette Lewis is forgettable as Faith (and considering that she's supposed to be the love of Lenny's life, that drags the film down), and Tom Sizemore is more annoying than menacing as villain Max Peltier. The story, while highly original, is uneven as well - certain plot points get abandoned for no reason, and sometimes the characters' motivations really don't make any sense at all, save to advance the story into the next scene. The quick pacing of the film and its imaginative look help to gloss over these weaknesses, but they're still there, just the same.

Inventive and daring, `Strange Days' is a solid movie, falling short of true greatness only because of the awkward execution of some brilliant ideas. Still, it's very entertaining, and definitely worth viewing, especially if you're a fan of sci-fi films. Grade: B/B+

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33 out of 57 people found the following review useful:
Strange Days........and a WOMAN directed this?!, 16 April 2009

Author: shortround8391 from United States

I guess James Cameron made action films better for all of us. Not just for the audience, but for the actors and the people involved in the movies too. He even smashed the gender barrier in the world of action movies and gave us the toughest females ever (Sarah Connor, Ellen Ripley, Helen Tasker, and Lindsay Brigman). And in 1995 he wrote up a screenplay that had a really fascinating story about the impending millennium and he called it "Strange Days". But instead of directing it, he decided to hand over the directing duties to his ex-wife Katheryn Bigelow, who made "Point Break" a few years before. And I've gotta say, women have really earned their place in action cinema, and we owe it to good ol' James Cameron.

Strange Days tells the story taking place at the turn of the millennium from the 1000's to the 2000's and from 1999 to 2000. And due to the fact that it's a science fiction film, it features an outlawed device called SQUID that people can use with inserted discs to see, feel and experience an event that someone else already recorded. And a former cop named Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) who is now a hustler and seller of this device frequently uses the thing that he devotes his life to in order to experience the old memories of his ex-wife. And two other sub-plots emerge when he gets a disc that reveals corruption in the LAPD and another that shows a serial killer stalking, raping and murdering women. And it all finally converges at the end.

Two years after playing the heartless Nazi Amon Goeth in "Schindler's List", Ralph Fiennes shows a completely different side of him in here. His character Lenny Nero is basically a vulnerable, weak guy who happens to be a lying, deceiving and vain hustler and due to his occasional silliness, it's almost impossible to see the negative aspects of his personality. He's also quite stubborn and a fool for love since his ex-wife chose fortune and fame over him. And Fiennes was perfectly cast here due to his skill of conveying several personality traits into a character. Also, his character is somewhat unique since he isn't really as macho and he seems to be more feminine due to his clothing style of silk and spandex. And we all know we can't keep ripping-off other movie characters to be make a profit, and "Strange Days" does the opposite. It does what it should do to get originality.

My favorite acting performance in here was, without a doubt, Angela Basset as Mace. We all know that James Cameron constantly puts tough female characters in his films, but Mace in "Strange Days" takes the cake! She serves as Lenny's bodyguard and provides a couple cool fight scenes. Mace used to be an average woman and then her husband got arrested and when he started doing time, Mace completely changed and became more masculine, kinda like Sarah Connor between the first two Terminator movies.

Tom Sizemore, who is a Bigelow regular, is great as Lenny's best pal and Juliette Lewis is great as Nero's ex-wife and she provides a realistic portrayal as the hot woman who wants nothing but money and could care less for morality and love. She also does some great singing in a couple scenes when she's performing with her band. And the dirty cop Steckler played by Vincent D'Onofrio before his Law and Order days, is played flawlessly and he's a pretty scary guy and he's willing to do anything to cover up what he and his partner did (although I'm not gonna tell exactly what in this review, you'll have to watch and find out).

"Strange Days" has got it all; action, science fiction, suspense, and romance. The SQUID things were really something cool, original and creative, and it would be even better if it was really invented someday. This isn't really as action-packed as James Cameron's movies tend to be like, since it's got a different director, but the vision of Los Angeles is just remarkable, there's arson fires and riots packed in almost every scene and its just horrifying. Even though it hasn't happened yet, it makes you think and it makes you worry, especially if you're foolish enough to be living in LA.

And remember, a woman actually made one of the greatest action adventures of all time. Katheryn Bigelow, we salute you.

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
What a great movie!, 26 March 2011

Author: tpaladino from United States

I had no idea this film even existed until it showed up in my Netflix 'recommended' column, and I decided to give it a shot after reading some good reviews on there. Wow, am I happy I did.

This was a truly fantastic sci-fi thriller, with intense action and a truly engaging story. The characters were very well constructed and had a lot of substance to them, and of course the acting was superb. Who knew Ralph Finnes could play such a good lowlife?

Set in an alternate (but totally recognizable) Los Angeles of 1999, the world has seemingly gone completely to hell, due to rampant poverty and class/racial tensions which are pushing society towards an all-out state of anarchy. The authorities are barely maintaining order, despite resorting to draconian measures to try and keep things in check. The director does an excellent job of painting this picture for us through fantastic environment and background shots which effectively build the tension and make us fully believe what is happening.

In this world, they have invented a type of virtual reality which allows an individual to record everything they are seeing and feeling directly through their brain, so as to then be played back later through someone else's brain, which allows the user to then see and feel exactly what was recorded without any danger (other than possible addiction). So needless to say a huge black market has sprung up to provide people with recordings of all kinds of illicit, criminal and sexual activities that they'd never actually get to experience in the real world. The plot of the movie builds from this technology.

However, other than this particular device and general state of social affairs, the alternate 1999 is pretty much identical to our 1999 (very much to it's credit). No flying cars, no wacky fashion, no aliens, no laser guns or anything like that. It was a great decision by the filmmakers to not bite off more than they could chew in that regard, as it would have distracted from a very solid story.

The films weaknesses are few, but are there nonetheless. It was a bit long... although I'm not usually one to complain about that kind of thing, so long as the time is necessary to tell the story. In this case an argument can be made either way, though I personally feel they could have lost about fifteen minutes or so (but to me it's a minor issue).

The director also felt the need to very quickly explain the origin of the virtual reality technology through a throwaway line of dialog, which really added nothing to the plot, and honestly made no sense; they said the technology was originally developed for the FBI so that informants wouldn't have to wear a wire, which is just dumb. The device is WAY more cumbersome and easily discoverable than a wire transmitter. How about saying that the military invented it to train soldiers more realistically? Or just leave it alone... true virtual reality is a technological holy grail. I don't think anyone questions why something like that would be invented in the first place, even if it's purely for entertainment.

Additionally, in my opinion, a couple of the 'bad guys' could have had their motivations fleshed out a tad better, but that is a also very minor quibble.

Beyond that, the look of the movie is quite dated, which could hinder the enjoyment for some people. The 1990's did not age very well to our eyes, and this movie is VERY much a product of that era. If you lived through it, you know what I mean. Younger viewers may not fully get the social and cultural allusions that this movie is built upon (Rodney King riots, 90's hip hop culture, rave clubs... things like that)... just something to keep in mind, although if you did live though it, you'll appreciate the depth that these references add.

But really, I can't recommend this film highly enough. It's a completely under-appreciated piece of work, and one of the best sci-fi thrillers out there.

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