Somewhere deep, deep down, there's the core of a good idea in this movie. Cyberpunk, before most people understood Cyberpunk. That idea of a decayed society stripped of anything joyful and replaced with cold hyper-consumerism and dehumanizing technological augmentation. A young, charismatic lead literally fighting for his humanity against that dystopian backdrop could have made a really compelling movie. But the film is weighed down by plot shortcomings and misjudgment about how technology would shape society in the future.
I mean, serious misjudgment. The smart move would have been to avoid getting too detailed about how things worked, like Bladerunner, but instead they decided to try and guess about how technology would evolve, providing a bunch of specifics they hoped would make things feel authentic but instead made the film appear aged a decade after it was made. For almost every future technology idea they took a swing at they missed wildly. Images are transmitted by fax, the "huge" volume of data he risks his brain to store would fit on something you could buy at your local supermarket for the price of a pack of gum, and phone calls are made via television sets with not even a whisper about smartphones, which is especially galling as they were already starting to be a thing when the movie was made.
But in fairness to the movie, few people guess correctly about technology decades into the future. Unfortunately, the script has serious flaws beyond dated tech. Combat scenes are confusing and poorly choreographed, so they feel unsatisfying, which is a huge issue since the action is the beating heart of the film. And the film has few surprises plot-wise since they telegraph important points well in advance of later reveals that were meant to be climactic moments. If you can't figure out what's in Johnnie's head, literally the secret at the heart of the movies plot, before the end of the first scene you aren't paying attention.
It can be easy to forget the rocky beginning of Keanu's career which now has so many iconic films. as you watch the cringe-worthy scenes here. But for all that you can still see the shadow of his now considerably refined charisma at times, and a glimpse of how much better the film might have been in better hands. Not a great film, but it makes for an appetizer while you wait for him in Cyberpunk 2077.
I mean, serious misjudgment. The smart move would have been to avoid getting too detailed about how things worked, like Bladerunner, but instead they decided to try and guess about how technology would evolve, providing a bunch of specifics they hoped would make things feel authentic but instead made the film appear aged a decade after it was made. For almost every future technology idea they took a swing at they missed wildly. Images are transmitted by fax, the "huge" volume of data he risks his brain to store would fit on something you could buy at your local supermarket for the price of a pack of gum, and phone calls are made via television sets with not even a whisper about smartphones, which is especially galling as they were already starting to be a thing when the movie was made.
But in fairness to the movie, few people guess correctly about technology decades into the future. Unfortunately, the script has serious flaws beyond dated tech. Combat scenes are confusing and poorly choreographed, so they feel unsatisfying, which is a huge issue since the action is the beating heart of the film. And the film has few surprises plot-wise since they telegraph important points well in advance of later reveals that were meant to be climactic moments. If you can't figure out what's in Johnnie's head, literally the secret at the heart of the movies plot, before the end of the first scene you aren't paying attention.
It can be easy to forget the rocky beginning of Keanu's career which now has so many iconic films. as you watch the cringe-worthy scenes here. But for all that you can still see the shadow of his now considerably refined charisma at times, and a glimpse of how much better the film might have been in better hands. Not a great film, but it makes for an appetizer while you wait for him in Cyberpunk 2077.