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IMDbPro

Cypher

  • 2002
  • R
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
32K
YOUR RATING
Cypher (2002)
An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.
Play trailer2:06
1 Video
14 Photos
MysterySci-FiThriller

An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious ... Read allAn unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.

  • Director
    • Vincenzo Natali
  • Writer
    • Brian King
  • Stars
    • Jeremy Northam
    • Lucy Liu
    • Nigel Bennett
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    32K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Vincenzo Natali
    • Writer
      • Brian King
    • Stars
      • Jeremy Northam
      • Lucy Liu
      • Nigel Bennett
    • 140User reviews
    • 81Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:06
    Watch Trailer

    Photos14

    Lucy Liu in Cypher (2002)
    Cypher (2002)
    Cypher (2002)
    Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu in Cypher (2002)
    Lucy Liu in Cypher (2002)
    Jeremy Northam in Cypher (2002)
    Jeremy Northam in Cypher (2002)
    Jeremy Northam in Cypher (2002)
    Jeremy Northam in Cypher (2002)
    Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu in Cypher (2002)
    Jeremy Northam in Cypher (2002)
    Cypher (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jeremy Northam
    Jeremy Northam
    • Morgan Sullivan
    Lucy Liu
    Lucy Liu
    • Rita Foster
    Nigel Bennett
    Nigel Bennett
    • Finster
    Timothy Webber
    Timothy Webber
    • Callaway
    David Hewlett
    David Hewlett
    • Virgil C. Dunn
    Kari Matchett
    Kari Matchett
    • Diane
    Kristina Nicoll
    Kristina Nicoll
    • Amy
    Joseph Scoren
    Joseph Scoren
    • Digicorp Technician #1
    Stephen Brown
    • Digicorp Technician #2
    Arnold Pinnock
    Arnold Pinnock
    • Pilot In Mensroom
    Jocelyn Snowdon
    • Stewardess to Buffalo
    Boyd Banks
    Boyd Banks
    • Fred Garfield
    Steve Jackson
    • Waiter Buffalo
    Dan Duran
    • Buffalo Speaker #1
    Valerie Buhagiar
    Valerie Buhagiar
    • Buffalo Speaker #2
    Roberta Angelica
    Roberta Angelica
    • Stewardess to Omaha
    George Santino
    • Rita's Agent #1
    Nelson Tynes
    Nelson Tynes
    • Rita's Agent #2
    • Director
      • Vincenzo Natali
    • Writer
      • Brian King
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Was shot in 35 days.
    • Goofs
      At the convention in Boise, Idaho, waiters with trays are stood on either side of the stage while two speakers address the audience. Usually, waiters would disappear after they had served the drinks.
    • Quotes

      Vergil Dunn: This place... is tighter than a nun's asshole.

    • Connections
      References Forbidden Planet (1956)
    • Soundtracks
      Opening
      Written by Michael Andrews

      Performed by Michael Andrews

    User reviews140

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Requires major belief suspension but is engaging, slick and quite exciting
    Morgan Sullivan is a businessman who, rather than work for his father-in-law, takes a strange job working as a corporate spy for a company called Digicore. His assignments are simple and boring; attend a conference and use a covert device to transmit the speeches back to HQ. At one conference he meets a mysterious woman called Rita and flirts with her. On his flights and during his sleep he is bothered by vivid dreams and voices in his head; he thinks nothing of it but then his next meeting with Rita reveals something much more sinister than the basic assignments he thought he was getting and he soon finds himself in deep.

    I had never heard of this film at all before watching it, nor did I even know anything about it whatsoever and I only ended up watching it because I had FilmFour free one weekend and this was one of the few films that they showed that was worth seeing. I'm glad I came to it with nothing because I found myself engaged from the start and the twisty plot was great fun even if the final five minutes could never have hoped to have delivered above and beyond what had come before. There are those that complain about the ending being "terrible" are perhaps being too harsh although I will acknowledge that it is a bit too tidy for its own good. The plot requires a lot of suspension of belief (and I mean a lot) but once you get into it it moves along really well and does keep you watching to see where it goes. It is helped by the way that it starts out in a "normal" world that many of us will relate to – boring business presentations and conferences that you wonder why you bothered. If you can keep up with it from here on then it is enjoyable even if logic and sense.

    Visually the film really works even if the budget constraints are clear here and there. Director Natali injects a lot of style and imagination into it and also delivers a real sense of urgency and paranoia that helps the material work. The cast are a mixed bunch, although in this sort of film the characters tend not to be that well developed in all parts. Northam takes the lead role and does it well, making his character a drag little everyman but also convincingly changing him gradually across the film. Lucy Liu is not as good; she is a bit flat but fortunately she has limited screen time and was only what I'd call really bad one time. The support cast are all OK, delivering the required mix of the ordinary and the sinister to good effect even if they are all pretty straightforward.

    Overall this is a nice little thriller in the style of things like Usual Suspects, Memento and the like. You do need to suspend belief and, if you can, it is enjoyably twisty and slick and is pretty exciting. Of course if you dislike the genre (the sort that has to keep moving for fear of getting caught by its own lack of logic) then you'll hate it but everyone else should at least get a fun 90 minutes from it.
    helpful•77
    11
    • bob the moo
    • Apr 19, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 2, 2002 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Company Man
    • Filming locations
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Pandora Cinema
      • Miramax
      • Gaylord Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $7,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $898,365
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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