Strange Days

• Genre: Dystopia/Cyberpunk
• Release Year: 1995
• Director: Kathryn Bigelow
• Writer: James Cameron, Jay Cocks
• Running Time: 145 mins
• Rating: R (violence, language, nudity)
• Reviewed by: CyberPunkFuture on Tue 9 Oct 07

Offical Blurb:
Ex-cop Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is a pusher of potent -- and illegal -- virtual-reality clips, peddling sex, murder and violence to the masses in quasi-futuristic Los Angeles. But when a high-profile murder shows up in his collection, Lenny is snared in a fast-paced manhunt. With the help of his friend Mace Mason (Angela Bassett), he stays ahead of danger and tries to protect an old flame (Juliette Lewis).

Review:
Set in a more futuristic and dystopian version of our world, the film takes place on the eve of the new millennium. Technology has advanced to the point that a person's experiences can be recorded to be played back and re-experienced by someone else (SimStim for the Gibson fans). As the millennium approaches, a lot of social tensions are starting to break (race riots, etc). While not yet an outright police state, the police and national guard are ever-present. Tanks patrol the streets and checkpoints block access to certain neighborhoods.

The main character, Lenny Nero, is an ex-cop that now hustles these VR experiences on the black market. He ends up acquiring a recording that sets him against the LAPD and a mysterious killer. He turns to his friends Mace, an armored limo driver, and Max, another ex-cop, to help him get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the recording. Lenny tries to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend, Faith, who he feels is in danger because of this (she is dating a overly protective and paranoid music exec, who Lenny suspects is somehow involved in the mess), which unfortunately leads to several scenes of Juliette Lewis screaming and ranting and being horribly annoying. Of course, nothing is as simple as it seems, and the action and plot twists continue up to the very end.

Overall, I thought it was a really good movie. It had just enough cyberpunk/futuristic feel to appeal to fans of the genre, but the movie on its own is still a good thriller/murder mystery/action film.

What I liked:
- nice cyberpunk movie, without the heavy sci-fi aspects
- good action
- great cast and acting, especially Ralph Fiennes. His character is the quintessential smooth-talking charming street hustler


What I didn't like:
- Predicable plot is some areas
- Juliette Lewis. Yeah, this is a personal one, but dear god I cannot stand her.

Rating:

• Genre Feel: 4
• Acting: 4
• Effects: 4
  
• Production Quaility:: 4

Final Scoring:

Personal Recommendation: Watch it

Availablity:
  Netflix     Amazon  

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