Overview
Set in the year 1999 during the last days of the old millennium, the movie tells the story of Lenny Nero, an ex-cop who now deals with data-discs containing recorded memories and emotions. One day he receives a disc which contains the memories of a murderer killing a prostitute. Lenny investigates and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of blackmail, murder and rape. Will he survive and solve the case?
This was one of the oddest films that I have seen in a long time. The story is set in an apocalyptic 1999 Los Angeles. Crime and rebellion are everywhere and Virtual Reality is the new drug. People’s life experiences are recorded onto video using a technology developed by the government but now available on the black market. You can actually slip on a headset and step into someone else’s life for a few minutes (or relive your own). That part of the movie was great and I wish that they had explored it further. There is a lot to ponder when it comes to the dangers of this kind of idea. Better yet, a crime is worked into the equation. The problem is all of the themes that are worked in (or in the case of religion, hinted at frequently) that the story seems to fall apart. At various times the movie is part Matrix, Crash, Escape from New York (particularly the constant crimes being committed just behind the lead characters) and Flatliners. Race is one of the more central themes in the movie and I wish that the director had made it more so. I would have subtracted some of the other themes and spent more time portraying how the races were far apart and why a specific incident in the movie was so important. The final scenes seemed rather… forced, including the silly final conflict.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews Strange Days
Movie title: Strange Days
Movie description: Set in the year 1999 during the last days of the old millennium, the movie tells the story of Lenny Nero, an ex-cop who now deals with data-discs containing recorded memories and emotions. One day he receives a disc which contains the memories of a murderer killing a prostitute. Lenny investigates and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of blackmail, murder and rape. Will he survive and solve the case?
Date published: 2010-03-19
Director(s): Kathryn Bigelow
Actor(s): Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Tom Sizemore, Juliette Lewis, Vincent D'Onofrio, William Fichtner, Michael Wincott, Glenn Plummer, Brigitte Bako, Kelly Hu, Richard Edson, Josef Sommer, Joe Urla, Michael Jace, Brandon Hammond, James Acheson
Genre: Crime, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
My Review
This was one of the oddest films that I have seen in a long time. The story is set in an apocalyptic 1999 Los Angeles. Crime and rebellion are everywhere and Virtual Reality is the new drug. People’s life experiences are recorded onto video using a technology developed by the government but now available on the black market. You can actually slip on a headset and step into someone else’s life for a few minutes (or relive your own). That part of the movie was great and I wish that they had explored it further. There is a lot to ponder when it comes to the dangers of this kind of idea. Better yet, a crime is worked into the equation. The problem is all of the themes that are worked in (or in the case of religion, hinted at frequently) that the story seems to fall apart. At various times the movie is part Matrix, Crash, Escape from New York (particularly the constant crimes being committed just behind the lead characters) and Flatliners. Race is one of the more central themes in the movie and I wish that the director had made it more so. I would have subtracted some of the other themes and spent more time portraying how the races were far apart and why a specific incident in the movie was so important. The final scenes seemed rather… forced, including the silly final conflict.
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My Review - 6/10
6/10