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Directed by: David Cronenberg Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law Written by David Cronenberg. Feels like Cronenberg played a PC game his nephew lent him for the weekend and decided to write a whole movie about it; shows a superficial understanding of videogames and videogame culture but is mostly ridiculous. Lacks the familiarity of the medium thematically explored (that was present in Videodrome) required to abstract these ideas. Mostly a failed Videodrome redux, which is a shame because it has a lot going for it--cool production design yeilds some of the neatest-looking props in recent years (though they feel totally out of place in the otherwise normal world the film presents,) and there's a great appearance by Willem Dafoe in the mix. If you just want to see a movie with a gun that shoots teeth, this is the one for you. You could easily miss it otherwise. 2/5
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May 3, 2004 11:29
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I haven't seen it in a while, but I liked it. I thought Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law did a respectable job. At some points the movie drags a little bit. Lots of cool creature and prop design, though. 3/5
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May 3, 2004 16:08
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horrible movie, but i would kill to see an mst3k version of it. 1/5
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May 3, 2004 22:00
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This movie was a victim of bad timing, IMO, coming out at the same time the Thirteenth Floor and The Matrix came out, but Cronenberg deserved a run, because he almost invented the cyber-movie. This movie is almost destroyed by bad dialogue. Cronenberg always has the most original ideas in film, but needs a someone to write dialog for him. 4/5
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May 3, 2004 22:38
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I hated this movie more than any movie of all time, okay maybe I hated Gattaca more. But I left halfway through this movie and made sure to shower the theater with ketchup packets. 1/5
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May 4, 2004 04:58
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I really hated this movie, hated it. My friend was raving about it being the best movie ever, so i watched it. Definite case of "i want those hours of my life back" it would have been better if whatever her name was got naked 1/5
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May 4, 2004 05:12
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As has been noted, this movie raises the question "Is mediocre acting ok, if its done intentionally, and makes sense given the plot". The answer is... maybe. 2.5/5
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May 4, 2004 07:26
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Ive never liked Chronenberg, and this is no exception. The acting is ok, the cameos are great, but the plot is... not there. The first half of the movie presents this interesting question about the nature of game vs. reality when a game is as real as can get. However, barring a short joke like comment from one character, the ending more or less tells you "hey, none of it mattered". Really, I found it rather pretentious. It was an attempt to do an intelligent, neuveau, artsy, philosophic virtual reality film, but the lack of a strong script made each elements seem like it was there just to be there, and not as a device in the story or a way of getting something across. 2/5
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May 4, 2004 09:35
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I'm a huge Cronenberg fan and liked this movie a lot, at least for what it was. It's lacking in plot, substance and dialogue and I guess it's pretty much a rehash of Videodrome, but the visceral special effects and creature design made up for it for me. Also it contains my favourite scene in recent movie history, when Jude Law's character assembles the tooth-gun in the Chinese restaurant. 4/5
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May 4, 2004 10:52
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God, I hated this film. 2 hours of watching someone play a bad point-and-click adventure. If you want to see Cronenberg exploring a media he understands, watch Videodrome. If you want to see a confused old man desperately clutch at this new technology that's apparently so important, maybe you'll enjoy eXistenZ.
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May 4, 2004 12:56
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I really disliked this film, especially because you just don't feel any sense of warmth coming from the female protagonist (the game designer), nor do you feel any empathy for her plight. She blathers on and on about her game, but her game didn't show much creativity over original reality. I thought Jude Law was decent but this movie ruined Jennifer Jason Leigh for me as an actress forever. 1/5
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May 4, 2004 18:40
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I enjoyed it thoroughly. Not Cronen the Barbarian's best work, but better than Crash. By Far.
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May 5, 2004 02:50
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quote:Starscream came out of the closet to say: There's probably only a handful of movies worse than Crash. I'm trying to like Chronenberg, but it's really hard. So far, out of the ones I've seen, this is his best. However the ending really, really sucks and detracts a lot from the movie. I was lucky enough to talk to the editor of the movie and he lead me to believe that not even Chronenberg wanted that particular ending.
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May 5, 2004 05:13
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Awful, awful film. *Jude Law licks the girl's game port thing.* *Girl turns around* Jude Law: IT WAS A GAME URGE
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May 5, 2004 05:16
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Saw this a couple times shortly after it came out on DVD, so it's not exactly fresh in my mind. But from what I remember, it was a decent movie; nothing special, but wasn't horrible either. 3/5
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May 5, 2004 05:21
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While not on the same level as "Videodrome" or "Naked Lunch", and I can't argue that the dialogue and acting leave something to be desired, I think this is a fascinating, very effectively atmospheric film. I love the sets, props, and visual style of the film, with their dissociated organic look. Some of the details of interactions with the game world (characters in the game-story who have frustratingly limited speech recognition) may seem a little dated given the advances of gaming tech & production value even in the few years since eXistenZ was made, but the details Cronenberg is commenting on and parodying are subtle enough that it needs to stand out enough for the viewer to get the reference. eXistenZ is a weirdly attractive, satisfyingly creepy film that, to my tastes anyway, makes for a better "lost in a virtual world" movie than The Matrix. 4 / 5
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Jul 12, 2004 05:28
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This is Keanu-fluffer. I didn't even finish it. Jennifer Jason Leigh is better when she's getting knocked up in high school. 1/5
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Aug 1, 2004 01:14
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This movie is one of my favorite Cronenberg films, and but at the same time it's not surprising to me that a lot of people hate this and a great deal of his work. I get a little bit more out this movie everytime I watch it: when I first saw it in the theater I was somewhat dumbfounded by the amateur acting/dialogue and the seemingly rehashed themes from Videodrome. I believe that the amateur acting is an intended subtlety - remember that the characters in the eXistenZ are average people that are acting out their fantasies in an artificial environment, or are artificial entities of the gameworld themselves. The overall aim of the movie is the exploration of the question "What is reality?" As is common with Cronenberg, we're left with more questions than answers. This is what makes eXistenZ (and most of Cronenberg's work) truly memorable for me - he never steers his viewers down a single moral path, and leaves the individual to analyze and resolve their own questions about his subject matter. That said, this movie probably isn't for everyone - especially not for those who are not comfortable dealing with ambiguity. 5.5/5
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Dec 16, 2004 16:53
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Being a Cronenberg fan, I checked this film out some time ago. It isn't my favorite of Cronenberg's work, but I still think it has some merit. 3/5
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Dec 16, 2004 17:25
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