This 2003 John Woo pseudo-scifi thriller is fun in an 80s kinda way. Funny that Woo could channel those old vibes 20 plus years later. I thought the movie was basically a Minority Report ripoff.
An engineer (Ben Affleck) is hired because of his talent in reverse enginering other corporations' secrets and is willing to have his memory wiped after he completes his work.
The plot, premise and twists are fun enough and the supporting cast is really very good, including Joe Morton and Paul Giamatti. Colm Feore and Micheal C. Hall (in his first role...he's now the Dexter guy) are notable, too. Callum Keith Rennie talents are completely wasted.
The filming is cheesy. So is the direction and the soundtrack. The two lead actors, Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman are disturbingly bad. I mean, it's unreal how terrible they are. Surely, it was the direction because it's practically impossible to believe that they were this bad. Okay, maybe Affleck, but not Thurman. Ah, well. That's really the most negative thing about this movie. Oh, and Woo needs to come up with another gimmick other than the I point my gun at you, you point your gun at me posing. It's tiresome.
I say "psuedo-scifi" because there are plenty of indicators that this is an advanced world (compared to now, as I write this), but it felt like the producers sort of ran out of time and interest. They sprung for a dressed up techno set, but then they have extras running around in jeans and flannel shirts. Odd.
One thumb up.
I have to agree with your review of this movie. It was bad acting but I liked the premise. Would you sell your memory for a "paycheck". Pity the acting didn't measure up but I liked the supporting cast.
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