When a virtual reality simulation created using the personalities of multiple serial killers manages to escape into the real world, an ex-cop is tasked with stopping its reign of terror.
The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) has developed SID version 6.7: a Sadistic, Intelligent, and Dangerous virtual reality entity which is synthesized from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers. LETAC would like to train police officers by putting them in VR with SID, but they must prove the concept by using prisoners as test subjects. One such prisoner is ex-cop Parker Barnes. When SID manages to inject his personality into a nano-machine android, it appears that Barnes might be the only one who can stop him.Written by
Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
In this movie, Denzel Washington's character is charged with hunting down Russell Crowe's character. In American Gangster (2008), Crowe is charged with hunting down Washington. See more »
Goofs
The "video deck" Barnes uses to play the nightclub attack video is in fact a Pioneer PD-F51, which only plays audio CDs. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
John Donovan:
Oh, man. I can't get over how different we look.
Lt. Parker Barnes:
Maybe it's the uniforms?
[they suddenly run off in pursuit]
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the end of the credits when the producers thanks technology companies for providing tools, one tools is listed as HSC Kal's Power Tools. This is a typo, since the product is Kai's Power Tools. They typo is even archived in TCM's movie information database (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/7915492%7C0/Hsc-Kal-S-Power-Tools-Bryce/) See more »
Alternate Versions
Despite the "Not under 18" rating, the German video version is heavily edited to reduce violence. The uncut version is available only on DVD (it was approved by the juristic commission of the Head Organization of the German film industry (SPIO)). See more »
For the most part, "Virtuosity" is basically another virtual reality-themed movie so full of action that it almost hurts. But interestingly enough, there is a little bit of a plot here. Denzel Washington plays Lt. Parker Barnes, who has to help find SID 6.7 (Russell Crowe), a virtual serial killer who has escaped into the real world in 1999 LA.
Yes, that certainly sounds like it could degenerate into the kind of garbage that Hollywood usually turns out. Much of the movie is in fact vaguely reminiscent of movies like "Demolition Man". But maybe we can interpret the movie as looking at the dangers of letting technology get too powerful, like what "2001: A Space Odyssey" looked at. Obviously, this isn't even remotely in the same league as that one, but given that it was released in 1995, it almost seems like a prediction of how computer-centric the world would become.
Not a masterpiece by any stretch - both Washington and Crowe have done much better work (and now they're both Oscar winners) - but worth seeing, if only once.
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For the most part, "Virtuosity" is basically another virtual reality-themed movie so full of action that it almost hurts. But interestingly enough, there is a little bit of a plot here. Denzel Washington plays Lt. Parker Barnes, who has to help find SID 6.7 (Russell Crowe), a virtual serial killer who has escaped into the real world in 1999 LA.
Yes, that certainly sounds like it could degenerate into the kind of garbage that Hollywood usually turns out. Much of the movie is in fact vaguely reminiscent of movies like "Demolition Man". But maybe we can interpret the movie as looking at the dangers of letting technology get too powerful, like what "2001: A Space Odyssey" looked at. Obviously, this isn't even remotely in the same league as that one, but given that it was released in 1995, it almost seems like a prediction of how computer-centric the world would become.
Not a masterpiece by any stretch - both Washington and Crowe have done much better work (and now they're both Oscar winners) - but worth seeing, if only once.