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Directed by: James Mangold Starring: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John C McGinley, Rebecca De Mornay Pretty good movie. I think John Cusack is awesome in most movies that he does. It starts off with a kind of multi-story thing that looks like it might be really confusing, but ties together rather quickly. Through 80% of the movie you're watching a standard(but decent) horror "Psycho" type movie with people getting killed off in a motel. As you wind down to the last 20 min or so, you start to understand whats going on and some of the issues with the film are excused. Then they throw in one last twist at the very end that made me change it from a probably 3.5 to a 4.5. I can sum it all up in one line: If you like movies like Unbreakable that maybe seem slow or without aim or direction, then get cleared up at the end with a great twist, then you'll like this one too. RATING: 4.5 PROS: Nice twist ending, great cast CONS: Most of the movie plays out like a generic horror film ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309698/ ChesterJT fucked around with this message at 09:12 on May 19, 2004 |
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May 18, 2004 07:12
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 11:03 |
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As statted above, an absolutley splendind twist. The twist alone made it one of my favorite movies. 5.5
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May 18, 2004 07:53
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Somewhat unoriginal for the genre (though what horror film isn't? it's all been done). There were redeeming qualities, however: decent pacing, some pretty kick-rear end visuals, better-than-average John Cusack performance, and the little boy's character (loving sweet). I also enjoyed the eventual realization of the premise. It was a bit far-fetched, but easier to swallow cinematically than say Fight Club's (which succeeded in Chuck's novel, but was sort of failed in Fincher's version). Rated 3.5
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May 18, 2004 14:04
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I'm a huge John Cusack fan, so I'm already biased. But, otherwise, The film is great. I loved the twist (Many of my friends hated it) and the fun-albeit-generic horror feel. It's got a few problems, but I can see past them. Plus, John Motherfucking Cusack! 4.5/5
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May 18, 2004 18:01
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I couldn't believe that after the twist is revealed, they still expect you to care about the characters or the situation going on. I felt let down and kicked in the stomach. One of the worst movies I have ever seen, I will NEVER understand the love it gets. Voted 1 (BECAUSE WHORES DON'T GET A SECOND CHANCE DURRRRR)
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May 18, 2004 21:43
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John Cusack was about the only positive thing in the movie. The horror elements were weak, cliche, and boring, and the twist ending is worthy of an Outer Limits episode. The reactions I saw to the twist(s) were more  than anything else. The movie didn't know when to stop. Insanely over-rated by people who aren't familiar enough with previous movies/books that have done the same thing much, much better. Really a lovely movie, aside from Cusack's performance.1.
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May 18, 2004 22:01
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I thought that this movie was extremely predictable and teribly made. Not only did the twist not come as a surprise at all, but it also was just a lame twist. The movie seemed more focused in making the deaths as gruesome as possible than actually developing the characters a little more which would have made the big twist much cooler. This movie felt like it was I Know What You Did Last Summer, except it was trying to be a psychological thriller. I regret spending three dollars for renting this movie. 1.5
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May 19, 2004 01:09
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quote:Ramen Soup came out of the closet to say: I don't see how you can say it's about gruesome deaths when that's the smallest and least-focused on aspect of the movie. You don't even see any of them getting killed(except for the dad I guess)! You just see the end result, which lasts for about 2 seconds, then they cut away. And when they go back to them, the bodies are gone. The way they got killed is of no importance, thus they spent little to no time on it. If you think these deaths were gruesome and drawn out, then you haven't seen many horror movies.
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May 19, 2004 09:18
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A generic made-for-tv movie with a groanworthy twist. Only saved by a couple of good shots and John Cusack. For the life of me, I can't figure out why he agreed to star in this movie. 1.5/5
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May 19, 2004 16:07
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This movie really wanted to be The Sixth Sense, but failed. The twist was made obvious by the middle of the film, and the rest of the movie at that point was just filler. Some decent cinematography, and initial creepiness, at least until the plot became see-through. 2.5/5
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May 19, 2004 16:15
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The trailer for the movie gave away the main surprise, so I didn't see it in the theater, thinking it would suck. When it came out on DVD some people were talking about it so I decided to rent it, and my knowing what was going on made the movie better than if I had not. You can't really review the movie without discussing the main twist, which looked really lame to some and fairly done to others, so my spoiler-less review will be short. I leave it up to you to decide if you want to read the other review and know what's going on before you see it. If you're not going to watch the movie based on the other reviews, I really recommend you read the spoilers. Identity is a very surreal thriller. I wouldn't call it a horror movie because you see the result of the deaths far more than you see the actual deaths. The characters are very cliche and often played by typecast actors (like Ray Liotta), but it has a purpose. The visuals were very cool, but I wish they could have simplified or otherwised reduced the number of extra twists in the end, as it felt like they were throwing anything they could at you by that point. For the people who want to know, Identity is about the illusion of not only reality, but personality, as well. Skepticism of reality has been done many times, but the idea of personality as an illusion has barely been touched in movies. By this I mean that the characters who meet at the motel are not real people, they are all multiple personalties in the head of a serial killer who is going to be executed at morning. The psychologist treating him has forced these personalties to meet and confront each other, in hopes that they will either merge or that one of the harmless personalities will survive instead of the killer. As a result, one by one they are being picked off by the murderous personality, but they don't know which one of them is the murderer. That's why we see such simple characters as "Hooker with the heart of gold," "Shady dirty cop," "Slimy hick" and "Burnt-out ex-cop", they're the result of a conflicted mind that has split itself into simplified forms. Knowing this, however, is not the point of the movie. They tell you this about 45 minutes before the story actually ends by having John Cusack pulled out of the fantasy world of the killer and awaking in the judge's chambers where they are trying to commute his sentence to life, depending on the outcome of this dissociative battle royale (which has some great acting by both Cusack and the fat twitchy man playing the serial killer). It's right after this that Cusack's character drifts out of consciousness and back to the motel, as the psychologist tells him that the killer cannot survive the night or they'll all die. He's standing in the rain and this world seems completely real, but he's just been told it's not. Hell, even he's not really real, he's a combination of behaviors and traits within a fat psycho that have taken the form of a tormented protector. The movie from this point on is not filler or pointless, because the personalities are no more unreal than your own personality. Others either didn't see this, didn't like it, or didn't care, but I thought it was a very neat thing for a thriller to do. Not at all bad, considering it was written by Michael Cooney, who also wrote Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman. 4/5, I loved it and it was technically well made, but there's a good chance your mileage will vary Knight fucked around with this message at 17:07 on May 19, 2004 |
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May 19, 2004 17:01
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I can't help but look back at this film and think of Nick Cage in Adaption, pitching his ridiculous idea of a movie to his "twin" brother. If you've seen Adaptation but not this, that might be a spoiler, but whatever. Identity is a great ensemble of characters thrown away in a stupid, overused movie gimmick. voted 1.5
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May 20, 2004 06:02
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I liked this movie a lot. Usually I can see twists coming, but i didnt expect the end of this one at all. It was really a double twist. 4/5
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Jun 1, 2004 22:59
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Good movie and good twist, however, they gave away the whole drat movie right in the middle. They gave away the twist, but it wasn't at the end, it wasn't a twist ending, it was a twist middle! If I had not known the ending in the middle, the rest of the film would've been more enjoyable...but still a good thriller so 3.5/5
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Jun 2, 2004 02:56
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I figured out the twist almost immediately and turned to a friend to say "If the little plot twist is _____ I'm going to loving laugh." I was right. It wasn't even worth seeing because of Cusack, and that's saying a lot. The tone of the movie was probably its only strong point, which is sad indeed. 1/5
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Jun 4, 2004 00:46
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A rather generic, although similarly well-done horror movie, perhaps one of the rare films these days that could be referred to as a flick. Not without its poor sections though, namely in the weak last shots of the movie, and the pure ridiculousness of the movie. That being said, there was a certain "revelation" shot once the twist was revealed that made me  repeatedly. Anybody have a GIF?
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Jun 4, 2004 01:57
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Pros: Awesome twist on the typical "stab-em-up" movie Cons: The second ending (the first would have been just fine) 4.5
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Jun 4, 2004 05:19
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I like this movie up until the second twist, which I thought was horribly retarded and predictable and pretty much ruined the movie for me. The first twist I thought was really cool, but god drat I hated the second ending. The rest of the movie was pretty good; well acted and written, and kept me guessing with a few things (the blood on Ray Liotta's shirt for instance), but I hated that second twist. 2.5/5
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Jun 4, 2004 06:22
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I really enjoyed the movie. One of my favorite thrillers. Although, I will agree in saying the twist at the very end was a bit corny. It's definitely worth seeing. I give it a 4/5.
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Jun 4, 2004 06:35
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I'm really starting to hate movies where you know there's a twist coming. Because I spend the whole time trying to second-guess it. In this case, I guessed it about half an hour before they revealed it. And it was a really dumb twist, too. And yet... I kinda liked it anyway. Just had the right feel to it, I guess. Or maybe I'm just feeling generous. Rating: 3
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Feb 3, 2005 00:22
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 11:03 |
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Identity is a great movie... right up until the twist. After that, you might as well go and do something else, because it completely destroys any suspense or involvement you might have felt before. It's a shame, because the atmosphere and acting are very enjoyable. Identity has one of the dumbest, most forced plot twists I've ever seen, and as a psychologist, I disapprove wholeheartedly. 4.5/5 for the first half of the movie, 1/5 for the second. 
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Feb 3, 2005 07:08
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