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Directed by: Andrew Niccol Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal, Xander Berkeley IMDB A movie about society in the near-future and a pretty realistic look at what life might possibly be like in 50 or 100 years. In the future, genetic engineering is put into use for concieving children, increasing resistance to diseases and changing personality and physical traits of the child to whatever the parents might desire. The people that are born through natural birth are relegated to a second-class status, including the film's main character Vincent Freeman, played by Ethan Hawke. Hawke is determined to be an astronaut but he has the disadvantage of being a natural-birth child, so he decides to get help from an injured person with spectacular genes and fake that man's identity in order to work at the Gattaca Corporation. The film includes plots in various other genres, including romance and detective work. Not only is the movie very entertaining, it strays far enough from the "conventional" sci-fi formula that even people that may not particularly care for sci-fi but that like good regular dramas would enjoy it. It seems to be fairly underrated in terms of popularity but I've found that pretty much everyone I know that's seen it has liked it. I give it a 4/5 Trivia: The name "Gattaca" is composed entirely of the letters used to label the nucleotide bases of DNA (A, T, C, and G). The four nucleotode bases of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.
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May 3, 2004 03:37
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 23:46 |
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Yeah. I thought this film had all the best aspects of a Film-Noir type of atmosphere and a Sci-Fi plot. Ethan Hawke embodies a character that you can really identify with (obviously not directly, but as the representative of the non-tweaked mankind). You'll be really interested to see how this world of genetic perfection operates and just how closely he lives to "the edge" of being discovered. The ending is great and the story is unique and intelligent. GOLD
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May 3, 2004 03:44
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The first time I saw it, it was a big let-down, because I expected an action movie. It might sound dumb, but back in the days, the pay-per-view commercial was made of some faster-paced sequences (people running, the guy's brother drowning, etc...) on techno music. I guess they wanted action fans to give it a shot... When I watched it again a year or so ago (The things you'd do for a girl...), I was able to understand more of it, and even enjoy it. I give it 3/5, because 4/5 seems a bit much... I'd give it a better score, but.. heh... Blame pay-per-view. CordlessPen fucked around with this message at 03:52 on May 3, 2004 |
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May 3, 2004 03:50
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It was stylish, entertaining and gripping, but didn't have a hell of a lot to say. Trivia: The staircase in Hawke's character's home is helical. 3.5/5
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May 3, 2004 04:50
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Anyone who enjoyed this should read Brave New World, it's a book in the same vein.
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May 3, 2004 05:05
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voted 4 because of Guanine Tyrosene Cytosene and Adenine. dunno why this movie h8s on urasil.quote:Relin came out of the closet to say: Aldous Huxley = god.
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May 3, 2004 05:17
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It was a remarkably good science fiction film, and an okay film social commentary wise. Dystopian and controlled futures are always a wonderful subject to provoke political thought in to people who just went to see a movie or read a book. 4/5
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May 3, 2004 05:51
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An intelligent american sci-fi film. That's a rarity in hollywood and this is one of the best. The only other movie in the same genre i've been able to enjoy is the Solaris remake. Plus the peformance by Jude Law is amazing. 5
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May 3, 2004 05:54
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quote:vivisectvnv came out of the closet to say: Is Gattaca considere his "break?" I loved the movie, and I could never understand why my friends didn't enjoy it as much. It may have been the first movie that provoked thought in me. 5/5
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May 3, 2004 06:11
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I've never seen a better film than this, it's rare that a film can actually make me feel something, let a lone keeps my interest. This one does both.
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May 3, 2004 06:21
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My favorite film. I've watched it at least 15 times in several languages (I even watched it in Japan). Jude Law, Ethan Hawke, and Uma Thurman deliver excellent performances. The music is haunting and makes for a great soundtrack. It is one of the only films that asks the question of where we are headed with genetic engineering. It depicts an elitist society and the worst part is that it is maybe 50 years from being possible. 5/5
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May 3, 2004 07:39
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Brilliant concept, a little plodding, but well worth the view. 3/5
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May 3, 2004 12:57
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I thought this movie was way too slow and the ending was trash. Jude Law's character commits suicide and the other guy goes into space and we dont even know what for? Pretty cheap I'm not really sure what the point of the movie was, if any. It wasnt so bad that I would demand the 2 hours of my life back that i spent watching it, but I wouldnt watch that again. 3/5
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May 3, 2004 15:11
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While I thought it was a good movie overall, the film is too moralistic and not exactly even-handed in its view of genetic engineering.
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May 3, 2004 19:08
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Great movie, one of the best in the sci-fi genre at the very least. Great character interaction, phenomenal photography, cool story, fascinating narration, intriguing mystery; everything works and works very well. It's interesting to note that this is probably the only sci-fi I've ever seen that essentially features no visible special effects (save for perhaps the extremely brief composite shots of rockets flying off in the far distance). This is not a bad thing; it allows the film to avoid getting muddled down into being seen distinctly as a genre film and not a movie that works on numerous levels. Very deserving of a 5.
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May 3, 2004 20:50
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This film was very predictable for me. The only thing I didn't predict was Vincent's brother was the detective. Was I actually supposed to know he was his brother? Maybe I was too bored to recoginize him. I knew Vincent would end up in space, I knew he wasn't the killer, I knew he'd beat his brother at chicken, and I knew Jerome would kill himself. I enjoyed Jude Law's performance. I agree the movie had some beautiful photography. The story had potentional but it didn't do anything for me. 2
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May 4, 2004 07:27
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Really love this movie. The actors seem to show real pain and real passion on screen. The world is so clean and the ideas so dirty it just feels so real. I'm only good at writing bad reviews. I love this movie  and I don't give out strait fives often.5/5
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May 4, 2004 07:33
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I love this moving - My favorite flick of all time. I love the concept of the underdog winning it all through sheer determination. What better story is that?! Jude Law was loving amazing - This was his breakout role, I haven't seen him perform better since. 5/5
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May 10, 2004 11:45
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A good sci-fi flick with decent acting and a decent plot, I give it a 3.5/5, would have been 4/5 if I could have seen Uma's breasts, but what are you going to do *shrug*
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May 10, 2004 14:23
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Notice all Sci-fi/Noir movies are absolutely sexy? Blade runner, Dark city, etc. Only bad thing about gattaca is its pace. a chase scene involving a crippled guy going up the stairs and a detective made me lol. Too many extended scenes, but overall a great watch 4/5
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May 10, 2004 16:25
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As a historian of eugenics, I have one rankle with Gattaca: it isn't eugenics. Eugenics is a government sponsored plan to improve individuals by eliminating "bad elements" from the gene pool and/or increasing "good elements" in it. In Gattaca, the discrimination which occurs has nothing at all to do with desires to improve the human race as a whole. Instead, you see a decentralized effort by parents, looking to avoid the potential pitfalls of life, to give their children the "best shot" at the world that money can buy. The result? A society which looks very much like the product of eugenics. But isn't actually eugenics. What's my point? I think the movie is actually pretty correct to how "eugenics" will look in our future. It won't be result of state-heavy programs of the past -- the compulsory sterilization of the mentally disabled in the USA, the racial hygiene of Nazi Germany -- it will be the baby boom soccer moms, the same ones who buy SAT prep courses and force their children to do lackluster "community service" in a hopes of boosting their middle-class college applications. The urge to provide, the urge to give "the best shot," on an individual, decentralized level. That's how eugenics is going to look in the 21st century. So, it's not eugenics, the way eugenics used to be done. It's not the same thing as the racial purity programs undertaken by the majority of Western nations prior to the second World War. It's something more subtle, more palatable, and more effective. It's the real "eugenic" threat of the future, and calling it eugenics glosses over the differences between the social results shown in Gattaca, and the social results of the Third Reich. The end products aren't much different, but the methods are miles apart.
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May 12, 2004 02:01
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Gattaca is about a capitalized version of "eugenics" (as i_am_the_hydra explained) and how it changes society. While the director tries to make it an argument against genetic engineering or the evils of technology, the film takes on a different meaning than what was intended. The film itself is about what man does with that technology, specifically their foolishness in believing they can properly predict or classify human potential, effectively judging their worth and everything they could ever be based on their DNA. Hawke plays a natural-born who proves them wrong, who strives and succeeds in being more than what he is told he can be in a world where everyone accepts the limits placed upon them and surpassing those limits is unthinkable. The processes and elitism of this futuristic society are well-thought and the actors all give great performances, giving the ending a very real and emotional impact. 4.5/5, there is somewhat of a religious theme that plays on the ignorant's fear of advancing science, but it easily discarded for a much better and humanistic experience. quote:mroach came out of the closet to say:
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May 12, 2004 02:32
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quote:Boco_T came out of the closet to say: I liked Gattaca. It's more of a drama-sci-fi movie, since the sci-fi elements aren't used as the main plot for the movie. They're used as more of supports for the main theme instead of being the focus of the film. Jude Law has the superior genes, and he ends up killing himself, and Ethan Hawke is the "inferior" human and he gets the girl, works at Gattaca, and goes to space. Just because you've got superior genes doesn't mean that you're a superior person. That's what I got out of it, anyway. 4/5
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May 12, 2004 03:19
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This is one of my all time favorite films. While some interpret Gattaca's depiction of the future as grim and corrupt (by way of genetic discrimination), I felt that the film's choice of having essentially no true villains shed a more delicate and understanable light on a take on the future that is surprisingly plausible. Every character in the film was in some way a victim of the standards of society, leaving the audience questioning where the real "blame" in it lies, or if it even exists. Andrew Niccol's use of water in his films always astounds me (think The Truman Show ) and Jerome/Vincent's final journey moved me in a way that most films can't. 5
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Aug 1, 2004 00:13
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One of the most underrated films of all time. I think mainly because it never beats you over the head with its message, it just leaves it out there for you to find ... or not. 4/5
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Aug 1, 2004 19:45
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quote:Knight came out of the closet to say: It was Titan, a moon of Jupiter. I thought the movie was really good, it was kinda interesting seeing all the kind of 50's throwbacks like the cars and the setting in general. Also kinda funny that they went up into space in their three piece business suits. Fun Fact! Jude Law's character was called "Eugene". Get it? Eugene, Eugenics!
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Aug 1, 2004 22:56
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This movie got some pretty bad reviews here in Sweden, so I had no expectations when I saw it on VHS. I really liked it after coming to terms with the fact that it was by no means an action movie, which I was led to believe by the trailer. As a drama movie with pretty intelligent social commentary in a sci-fi setting, it's good. Also, I went gay for Jude Law for a while after seeing this movie. 4/5
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Aug 5, 2004 21:21
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quote:Crazy Newbie came out of the closet to say: It's certainly not a bad film, and better than a lot of science fiction I've seen, but I was expecting better. Perhaps I'm a heartless bastard, but I rolled my eyes a little at the "message" behind the film and the way in which it was presented. 3.5/5
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Aug 12, 2004 13:57
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The first half of this movie is a bit slow. I had trouble staying awake through it. The buildup pays off in the end, though: Gattaca turns out to be an excellent movie. A thoughtful story, great acting and excellent imagery make this movie a must see. 4/5
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Aug 13, 2004 11:55
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It's nothing special, but I got enjoyed this movie. Watched it in biology class a few years ago. It succeeds in making genetics interesting. 4
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Aug 13, 2004 17:33
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This film is beautiful, from its look, to its storyline, to its brilliant soundtrack. A well deserved 5/5.
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Aug 13, 2004 21:40
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A sci-fi movie that feels more like a classic film. I mean that it has few special effects, and instead has a great story (about reaching your dreams), a powerful score, and witty dialogue with good acting. I must agree with Rolex on Jude Law as well. 5/5. One of my (if not the) favorite movies.
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Aug 14, 2004 04:22
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quote:The Artificial Kid came out of the closet to say: it's jude law's character's home
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Aug 14, 2004 09:07
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Great movie. It was on all the time back when i first got HBO. Also: Studebaker Avanti
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Aug 19, 2004 06:43
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It's one of those movies that are not amazing, yet the more I think about it, I realize I enjoyed it. It has great replayability. 3.5/5 (I'd have given 4 or greater if it didn't have such an oversimplified view.)
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Aug 19, 2004 07:47
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Gattaca wasn't what I expected at all. There was no real attempt to show us the future from a technological standpoint that you come to expect from science fiction. In fact, I thought the whole film looked a bit like a glorified contemporary fashion show. Instead, the focus is on the society of the time. However, that's not to say I didn't like it. I thought it was brilliant. Lovely, moving musical score, great acting from Ethan Hawke and Jude Law. The plot is a little predictable, but so what? It's so well crafted you don't really care. Edit: Xander Berkeley's part is one of my favourites in the film. 4/5
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Aug 29, 2004 18:00
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I expected more from it and it came close to delivering, but got bogged down in its own preaching. I just don't believe that the concept of eugenics society will take off. What I mean is, I DO believe parents will (if given the chance) stack the cards in their children's favor. But we won't hire based on it. The most brilliant people in the world can be lazy morons. And I'm sure there are plenty of people with Olympic-level bodies who are 300 pound couch potatoes. Genes are just a small piece of the puzzle, so I guess I just wasn't believing the science part of this fiction. But what really irked me and maybe it was only on the DvD because I don't see anyone mentioning it, was the parade of people with "bad" genes from history who were great humans. Okay, dude, you don't have to loving beat us on the head with it. Jude Law I think performed great. I still remember him in the wheelchair yelling at that flatfoot, "I'm in training!" and asking him to come back so he can get his badge number. It felt totally true. One of the outtakes on the DvD was the doctor, who keeps harping on how amazing Eugene/Ethan is and takes his urine sample and drinks it. Obviously lemonade (or I loving hope so :p). The other beat-you-on-the-head seen was the brothers swimming. I think my finger hovered over the stop button when I saw that contrived crap. This forum is funny. No matter how obscure a movie is, you can always find people who 5 it and say it's their favorite. I guess that shows the size of the members. But I'm guessing we need more ppl who think it's a 2-4 to reply. Just look at the ratings. Everything is a 4. 2.5
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Aug 29, 2004 18:33
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This movie had an interesting point to make, and had a great take on the future of Eugenics which was very different from what we have learned it would be from earlier science fiction. There are so few movies in this genre anymore, that I think any decent actual "Science Fiction" movie will be recieved with rave reviews. Too many movies that claim to be Sci-Fi are actually just action movies in the future. This is one of those movies that did not need a big budget to make it great, but I think it would have only made it better if it had. Like why the hell do people board the spaceships in business suits and briefcases. That one scene always bugged me. Anyway, 3.5/5
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Aug 30, 2004 15:26
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quote:The Artificial Kid came out of the closet to say: I must have watched a different movie. This movie was a commentary on both genetics, which is becoming a topic that we'll all be familiar with soon (several countries legalizing cloning, etc), and on the human spirit. Truly inspirational, but also a warning against the ramifications of tampering with what makes us human.
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Aug 31, 2004 01:31
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 23:46 |
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I thought that the cinematography was awesome, and the blended 50s/minimalist setting worked well to create a familiar yet offputting environment. It was especially funny how they took just ordinary 1950s cars but played a futuristic whirring sound as they drove around. I found that the performances were great, any sterility in them I think was intentional and supposed to be a reflection of the society. As people have mentioned, it did suffer somewhat from the beat-you-over-the-head-with-an-idea syndrome in parts. The swimming for one, and the cheesy repetition of the 'the wind must have taken it' manouvre with the hair irked me. Overall, though, I thought it was very well done and I'll give it 3.5/5.
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Feb 6, 2006 07:29
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