Rating: 
Summary: Slow burning future cult classic
Review: It seems that many have compared this film to 'The Matrix'. I don't think that this is very valid as the actors in 'The Thirteenth Floor' earned less money and performed better. The special effects were more subtle than the crash, bang, wallop of 'The Matrix', and it seems from the other reviews published here that the the plot was a little too complex for the average viewer, so they have dealt with that by writing that it was lacking in story. This is far from the truth. The plotline sets those who can to think. I feel confident that it will become a cult classic with time as more see and appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: Stylish, overlooked sci-fi thriller
Review: Hollywood has made a fortune recently on movies like The Matrix, The Mummy, The Haunting, The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense. Each of these movies has, in its own way, questioned reality -- what is there and what isn't, what we think is there but isn't, and what isn't there, though we think it is. The Thirteenth Floor is similar, but it bombed at the boxoffice, no doubt because the distributor opened it too close to The Matrix, an admittedly superior movie. Still, this is a stylish little thriller, whose sole purpose is to entertain. Many critics were quick to point out that the story is utter nonsense, but I find that even many great movies fail the logic test. The time is the present. A genius computer programmer named Hannon Fuller [Armin Mueller-Stahl] has a company in Los Angeles that is developing an advanced virtual reality project. It's a sort of a game that takes place in the city in 1937. It's realism is so great that the participants believe they are actually in that time period when they are in the game. Then Fuller is brutally murdered. His right-hand man, Douglas Hall [Craig Bierko] is left in charge, but soon discovers that Fuller has been playing some complex games of his own, including leaving the clues to his killer's identity back in the computer's 1937 Los Angeles. Considered a suspect himself, Douglas must go into the game to unravel an ever evolving mystery. Our first assumption is that Fuller unleashed a monster when he created the program, but we then learn that this is only part of the answer. While The Thirteenth Floor is more of a thriller than it is a high tech special effects dazzler, there are some excellent recreations of old Los Angeles. The buildings may be somewhat more Art Deco than they really were, but they are pretty to look at. Computer generated trolleys cruise along the streets. The costumes, the sounds and the slang of that time are believable. In fact, the 1937 scenes often seem more authentic than the 1999 ones, but, considering the climax, that may have been done on purpose. One way to dramatically lower a film's cost is to cast it with actors who aren't several million dollars a pop. The Thirteenth Floor certainly went this route, though, without a single familiar star, this may have also impacted its income. This shouldn't matter to the viewer, because the cast is quite good. Craig Bierko does as a splendid job as Douglas and his two alter-egos. Gretchen Moll is believable as the beautiful Jane Fuller, who may or may not be Hannon's daughter. Despite its dismal financial performance, this is the kind of movie in which actors get noticed, and I expect to see a lot more of Bierko and Moll. The other major characters are played by performers you've seen a dozen times, but whose names you have never known. The Thirteenth Floor will not please everyone. It is, for example, a little too serious for its own good. The plot has a lot of twists and turns. The story is preposterous. Yet I admittedly have a fondness for thrillers like this, because they keep you alert without really requiring you to think much. They are also good for transporting you to a fantasy world where no one behaves like your friends and neighbors. At least, I hope not.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome
Review: Why do people keep saying this is a MATRIX ripoff? This movie is based on the novel SIMULCRON-3 that was written in 1962!! I think that predates the MATRIX by a few years. Plus, the MATRIX isn't all that original anyway as even communicated by the screen-writers. Can you say PKD?
Rating: 
Summary: An Entertaining Film
Review: Every so often I rent a science fiction movie that either never made it to the big screen, or went through so quickly I never got a chance to see it. You never know when you will find a gem. "The 13th Floor" is one of those movies. It's not a gem, but it's not bad, either. The movie involves the efforts of a man to unravel the death of a business partner in a high tech industry. The twist is the dead man was using experimental technology to transport himself into a virtual reality world where the inhabitants are not aware they are not real. When the hero is framed for the murder, he must enter this virtual reality to discover the truth before the real murderer or the police catch up with him. This is not "The Matrix," and is more reminiscent of the tepidly received thriller "Dark City," though not quite as complex and difficult to follow. "The 13th Floor" lacks eye-popping effects, but the film is entertaining and thoughtful with enough action to keep the film moving. The filmmakers don't spend very long explaining the technology, and that's a good idea. This allows the film to play both as a murder mystery and sci-fi thriller. There is an interesting twist to this movie, that you may guess before it's revealed. The filmmakers do enough to allow the careful viewer to figure it out. This is an easy movie with a few surprises. That's a pretty good rental in any genre.
Rating:
Summary: The Thirteenth Floor DVD Review: It's actually pretty good!
Review: I have watched so many DVD's that didn't do well in the box office and found quite a few of those movies actually turning out to be very good. What about "The Thirteenth Floor"? Believe it or not...I really liked it! It puts another spin to movies like the MATRIX (Note: This movie shouldn't be compared to the MATRIX) in which it covers high-tech, alternate worlds and the movie was done very well. Although it had some sections that were loose in the movie, the movie all in all was pretty good. I'm not sure how much it cost them to make this movie but the way they made the high-tech and the 1930 scenes were visually pleasing. The video was very good in this drama but what I enjoyed the most for this DVD is the sound. Whoah! A scene with a gun shot and the glass breaking...one of my favorite demo segments to show friends of the capabilities of good 5.1 digital surround. I love it! Now, the extra's. I wish their was deleted scenes included with the extra's but you get quite a bit of extras, not as many as I wanted though. I wanted to see more after the movie was done. The music video by the Cardigans was a nice extra and the theatrical trailer to test the sound on your 5.1 surround sound system with Godzilla is nice. I don't have a DVD-rom, so I can't comment on that. The galleries were short but you see what kind of plans they had for the movie and they did a good job with the scenery. All in all, this is a DVD worth buying (if it's on sale). Many movie buyers who are fiscally conservative will skimp on this movie because they want the Matrix or a movie with major big major name actors. It's a shame because this movie is good and worth watching. The movie is worth taking a look because it's pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: The Thirteenth Floor DVD Review: It's actually pretty good!
Review: I have watched so many DVD's that didn't do well in the box office and found quite a few of those movies actually turning out to be very good. What about "The Thirteenth Floor"? Believe it or not...I really liked it! It puts another spin to movies like the MATRIX (Note: This movie shouldn't be compared to the MATRIX) in which it covers high-tech, alternate worlds and the movie was done very well. Although it had some sections that were loose in the movie, the movie all in all was pretty good. I'm not sure how much it cost them to make this movie but the way they made the high-tech and the 1930 scenes were visually pleasing. The video was very good in this drama but what I enjoyed the most for this DVD is the sound. Whoah! A scene with a gun shot and the glass breaking...one of my favorite demo segments to show friends of the capabilities of good 5.1 digital surround. I love it! Now, the extra's. I wish their was deleted scenes included with the extra's but you get quite a bit of extras, not as many as I wanted though. I wanted to see more after the movie was done. The music video by the Cardigans was a nice extra and the theatrical trailer to test the sound on your 5.1 surround sound system with Godzilla is nice. I don't have a DVD-rom, so I can't comment on that. The galleries were short but you see what kind of plans they had for the movie and they did a good job with the scenery. All in all, this is a DVD worth buying (if it's on sale). Many movie buyers who are fiscally conservative will skimp on this movie because they want the Matrix or a movie with major big major name actors. It's a shame because this movie is good and worth watching. The movie is worth taking a look because it's pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Film
Review: Every so often I rent a science fiction movie that either never made it to the big screen, or went through so quickly I never got a chance to see it. You never know when you will find a gem. "The 13th Floor" is one of those movies. It's not a gem, but it's not bad, either. The movie involves the efforts of a man to unravel the death of a business partner in a high tech industry. The twist is the dead man was using experimental technology to transport himself into a virtual reality world where the inhabitants are not aware they are not real. When the hero is framed for the murder, he must enter this virtual reality to discover the truth before the real murderer or the police catch up with him. This is not "The Matrix," and is more reminiscent of the tepidly received thriller "Dark City," though not quite as complex and difficult to follow. "The 13th Floor" lacks eye-popping effects, but the film is entertaining and thoughtful with enough action to keep the film moving. The filmmakers don't spend very long explaining the technology, and that's a good idea. This allows the film to play both as a murder mystery and sci-fi thriller. There is an interesting twist to this movie, that you may guess before it's revealed. The filmmakers do enough to allow the careful viewer to figure it out. This is an easy movie with a few surprises. That's a pretty good rental in any genre.
Rating:
Summary: The movie that keeps you wanting more
Review: If you haven't seen the film then go out and rent it first because it's not for everyone, espicially if your very much a matrix fan because this film doesn't go as deeply as you'd like it.
The reason I gave this film a 4 star is because it's gengre is rarely done well or for that matter done right. Like the matrix, it travels deep into the human mind to create a feeling of unease and distrust. In that I mean that one shouldn't believe what they see all at once until they've seen it all. Although the film doesn't have that element of serious intrigue like the matrix it still in it's own way gives you just what your looking for in terms of a sci-fi film without all the special kick ass moves that matrix is so well known for. Instead the film deals with how a good technological invention can turn deadly then moves into a field of smoken mirrors in which what you've seen has completely changed it's meaning and once again you are forced to replay the story line in your head to understand how it all works.
By the end of the film (which I will not tell you because that would be wrong) you are left with this sense of "awww" in which you think "geeez, I would have never guessed" which is just what the Matrix did for most people. Of course, I shouldn't be comparing two (as far as I'm concerned) completely different types of sci-fi films but these days if you haven't seen the matrix and your interested in this film then go out and rent it. Besides it does you no good to be out of the loop.
Anyway, to get the point across thier are some great performances in this film and often your left wondering where the next plot twist will lie. Although their were other wonderful actors in the film, I loved espicially Vincent D'onofrio just because he's the perfect villian and innocent bistandard all in once. Truely this film is as much a mystery of the sci-fi gengre as the Matrix is to Neo so do try to rent it and if you like it think of buying it. It never hurts to have a wide variety of sci-fi films at home!
Thank you! enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: It was OK
Review: I saw the Matrix and Reloaded before viewing this movie (just to clear the air). I liked it but it was very predictable. One other reviewer mentioned that this film left out the FX in order to be more of a thinking film. Think about what? The Matrix was rich in philosophical, theological, psychological, mathematical, and spiritual content. This movie had dablings, but not much. My wife absolutly HATED this movie. I though it was ok. There was no real "AHA!" moment (though I know where the directors wanted you to say AHA!). Perhaps I'm a bit biased to the Matrix, but this movie did not go as deep and simply skimmed the surface of "what is real". Next on my list is eXistenZ.
Rating:
Summary: theres another world ontop of this one
Review: a man is murdered and a cop suspects a techman partner for his death, but what happens next is astounding and the finale is great too. the theory in here is that theres the real world set in the future and they create a game world of the real world which is todays world and then todays world creates a game that goes back into the old world and you can be who ever you want to be, plus theres a killer on the loose. hang on tight. D'Onofrio, Mol, Stahl, Haysbert and Bierko give nice performances
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