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69 Sniper takes in CYPHER!
Hey folks, Harry here with a look from 69 Sniper of CYPHER, the second film from Vincenzo Natali.... I saw this one last October in Spain, and liked it. I greatly prefer THE BOURNE IDENTITY, but there are aspects of this flick that are just wonderful. Especially everything coming from Jeremy Northam, who is really cool in the film. Enough of me though, here's 69 Sniper...
Hi Harry and Moriarty,
Been reading the site since 98, love the reviews and all the rest of it, you
do a great job and thanks for always giving me something to read with my time
at work! Went to a preview screening of Cypher on Thursday night in Soho,
London though please don't mention this, I only brought it up so you can verify
it if you need to, it was at a Private screening held by Empire film magazine
in D'arblay street. I knew relatively little about the film other than it
starred Jeremy Northam, Lucy Liu and was directed by the "The Cube" helmer,
Vincenzo Natali.
I have "The Cube" but it was a few years ago and I don't remember it too
well. I can remember I thought it was an okay movie but some of my buddies quite
liked and it was certainly quite original. But anyway, on to Cypher, the film
that Natali hopes will introduce him into the mainstream.
Cypher opens well but never really lives up to the promise or the originality
it seems to offer, rather, its a mish-mash of other ideas which have been
dealt with better in previous movies.
I guess the best way to describe is as a Memento-esque tale set in the
hi-tech world of corporate espionage. It's difficult to describe too much of the
story without totally ruining it (which after the first hour steams straight
into cliche-central). It starts with the nerdy looking Morgan "Mr Suburbia"
Sullivan applying for a job with a large technological corporation who want to use
him as a spy to gain the inside info on other companies technology. Eager to
impress, Sullivan cannot understand why he is sent to conventions just to
copy and transmit speakers at various conventions dealing with all kinds of dull
and pointless topics like shaving foam and mortgage rates, nothing that would
be of interest to anybody.
Sullivan is asked to take on a different personna for these conventions and
enjoys the thrill of it all even making up his personalities new vices
(becoming a cigarette smoking, single malt whiskey drinking ladies man). It is in a
bar at one of these conventions we are introduced to Lucy Liu as Rita, a
noir-ish femme fatale that only seems to add even more mystery to his new role as
spy and aware of the terrible headaches he has been getting since he started his
new role.
It is here the story really begins with Sullivan, with Lucy Liu as his guide
(think Trinity to Neo in the start of the Matrix) realising he is nothing more
than a pawn in the deadly and deceptive world of corporate espionage as he
gets used and screwed over by the different factions in play, determined to
survive, understand whats happening and turn the tables on the people who are
using him to their advantage.
Sounds kinda exciting huh? But its not. The film threatens on several
occasions to really take off but never really does and while their are some nice
touches, it never rises above the mediocre and finishing with the most bland and
predictable ending that you can see a mile off. As I said, its difficult to
explain more without ruining the movie itself but heres a quick run down of
the things that worked and the things that didn't.
Good:
Homages to Clockwork Orange and North by Northwest were cool
Jeremy Northam - this guy was brilliant, he's sure to do well after this role
and plays the part brilliantly.
The Visuals - brilliantly and hauntingly shot - at times Northam seems so
isolated even in a busy room, fantastic cinematography.
The Chopper - don't know what it was called but hell thats some badass
helicopter!
Bad:
The plot - tries to be too clever and ends up being dull and condescending,
its just too obvious how its all gonna finish.
Lucy Liu - criminally underused. For such a talented actress she doesn't get
much to work with which is a shame as she and Northam work well together when
they get a chance.
The ending, as I said, cliche, cliche, cliche......sailing off into the
sunset really lets the film down when sooo much more of it could have been made!
Overall, not a bad movie but not an overly impressive one either. The
potential is there to become another cult hit like the Cube but its nowhere near as
strong or original and I can't see it exactly setting the box office alight
but who knows.
Keep up the good work at AICN guys, if you decide to use this piece then call
me 69 Sniper.
Thanks a lot.
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+ Expand All
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Freddy vs. Jason at #1 for two weeks in a row?? Gimme a break. The previous movie to make it two weeks straight was X-Men 2 in MAY!! There are no decent products out right now. I can't wait until December...
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Cypher is going to be another stinker. Come on Hollywood, you can do better than this.
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First, the on-topic post: I can't get excited about this one. Second, the real reason for the post: I'm starting an AICN league over at Hollywood Stock Exchange. Click on my username and let me know if you want to sign up. Cheers.
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"Went to a preview screening of Cypher on Thursday night in Soho, London though please don't mention this.."
Ok, we wont. -
Aug 25, 2003 1:14:01 PM CDT
I HATE those fucking imbeciles who keep adding 'The' to movie ti
by sheeld
The Gladiator, The Spider-man, The Titanic, The Cube.. THE IGNORANCE!
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It's pretty sad when someone is labeled a 'moron' or an 'imbecile' simply for adding a 'the' to a movie title. For proper definitions of moron and imbecile all you need do is look at a mirror. THE end.
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Hey, I saw Cypher in Paris -- it was very cool -- a definite must see. I actually sent a review into Moriarity but I never saw it on the site. What's up with that? Why does Sniper's little subjective review get front page treatment and I don't even get a reply e-mail. Whatever. Getting to the point --
The plot is totally original -- it's a sci-fi thriller -- with complicated twists and turns, amplified by Natali's vibrant direction. Jeremy Northam is amazing. He's like the Hitchcock everyman, he does it in a deadpan American accent, and he's in every scene. The key to the movie is that everything seems really ordinary but in fact he has no control over his actions and ultimately starts to lose his mind -- yeah there's the thriller element (it's a tightly wound plot) but there's a psychological element as well that anyone working a 9-6 BS job understands. I thought Northam might get a nomination out of this movie. He's that good. Lucy Liu's performance is the right tone. She's the requisite femme fatale, but she's got a pivotal role.
Without giving too much away, there is a set piece in the movie that is so visually stunning I would go see this movie -- even if the actors and the plot weren't as great as I think that they were.
I would recommend it.
Does anyone know when it's coming out here?
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I saw this over a year ago now, and really liked it. I'm big fan of Natali's work.
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Aug 26, 2003 8:02:59 AM CDT
"Went to a preview screening of Cypher on Thursday night in Soho
by dastickboy
Way to get the guy fired Red!
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Saw this on Sunday night in Sydney Australia where its been out for a while now. Didn't know any plot details at all before going in, had only seen the promo stuff which quoted "delivers where Reloaded failed" etc and said that it was from the director of Cube. Therefore I had some idea of the territory the movie might cover but did not know the plot of the first hour or so of the movie which happens all too often.
Basically I thought it was a really quite a good film. Though I am in disagreement with many of the points made by this reviewer I must agree that the visuals were really beautiful, and set the atmosphere perfectly. Northam as the review stated was great in this role also. If you liked Cube, you will probably like this, though even my friend who thought Cube was crap liked this a lot. The ending is not completely predictable and I felt no urge to see a hell of a lot more screentime for Lucy Lui's character like the reviewer did. The twists may not be absolutely unheard of and mind-blowing but i'm not the sort of person who goes into a film and tries to spend the whole time figuring out what the ending will be. In short if you go in with reasonable expectations you should come out satisfied. -
read philip k dicks 'A Scanner Darkly' and go on about how innovative this movie is! it is ok for a sifi flick, but nothing more.
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BladeRunner (Harrison Ford investigating himself) and Martix (those substance D/ red pills) ripped off Through a Scanner Darkly.
I stand by my opinion that Cypher is original - especially compared to the dreck coming out of Hollywood. Can you name the last thriller --- let alone SCIFI thriller that even comes close? And don't tell me Minority Report (blatantly rips off the conspiracy subplot of LA Confidential) -- that was ridiculous. Another PKD rip off. At least Cypher has a mind of its own. -
well, Blade Runner as Minority Report are based on different pkd stories and therefore can't be labeled rip-offs in my opinion. anyway, good scifi thirillers lately are not to be found, but if you go back a little, Existenz and 12 Monkeys worked pretty good. yes CXypher has a mind of its own, but being innovative is something else!
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