On E List of Movie Reviews

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Existenz (1999)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 7/15

7/15: The only way to understand Existenz is to be familiar with David Cronenberg's films, most especially Videodrome, from the early 80's.

Hence, I've been able to connect with the movie and to understand the dangers of video games and the internet, but I don't think the premise is executed as well as I hoped for. My gripe with Existenz is, like Videodrome, it's too abstract and far out. I wish David Cronenberg would rein in some of his ideas, expand more on what's working, and keep the graphic stuff at bay to simplify things.

Allegra's sexual tendencies are ridiculous and thus undermine the film's credibility. And I'm not buying Ted Pikul's obliviousness of how the game works since he's the PR man for the company. He has to, at least, know the basics of it. I know the movie is about a game within a game within a game (you can tell by Allegra's hairstyle), but it feels too much.

Anyway, I like the concept more than The Matrix, and there are some interesting ideas that got me thinking. Honestly, everything else works fine, making it easy for me to get into the movie. The acting is good, and it's nice to see Jennifer Jason Leigh tackling another challenging character. Jude Law isn't bad. It'll be nice if Willem Dafoe had a bigger role.

All in all, resembling too much of Videodrome, Existenz rehashes the same motifs.

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