I watched this because I'm a big fan of the Wachowskies, and after watching their first movie(Assassins, which they only wrote) I hoped to see another masterpiece from the makers of The Matrix that had nothing to do with it. It's no wonder the producers let them direct aforementioned sci-fi/action masterpiece after they did this. For such a little amount of money, they really made the most of it. Few characters, sets and occasionally limited camera-work is easy to look past(hard to notice, in fact). The movie is breathtaking. For the entirety of the last half I was literally at the edge of my seat, extremely excited and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The first half is mostly a setup for the last half, but it isn't boring, and is well worth watching, as it makes the second half near-perfect in suspense. The lesbian subplot might throw some people off, and will definitely offend some people, but if you're aren't one of them, then you most likely will enjoy it, if you're into thrillers. The plot is very well-written, and with twists and turns thrown in every so often, it keeps you watching closely. The acting is mostly good, especially from the three leads. The characters are great... diverse, interesting and credible. The cinematography contains several of the same things later made famous in The Matrix... anyone who's seen both movies can tell that it's the same people behind the cameras. The action is really well-done. The story-telling is just slightly experimental... reminiscent of various heist flicks. This also contains some quite stylish visuals, though not as many as the brothers' later works. All in all, just works really well and keeps you entertained throughout. I recommend this to any fan of the Wachowski brothers, thrillers and/or the actors in it. 8/10
