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Impostor (Director's Cut)

Impostor (Director's Cut)

List Price: $14.99
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Much better if you dont know who's the creator of the story
Review: Luckily I didnt know who the original creator of the story was before watching it so I was charmed by the story and surprised by its ending, important ingredients of my high rating. Not until I read the comment by other reviewers that I found out who the story writer is, and I understood why many were disappointed, for they had expected something more than Total Recall and Blade Runner.

In my opinion, this movie is a hybrid of the above two plus the Fugitive, with many positive elements from each of them. Disregarding the similarities in the P.K. Dick's stories, and considering it only as a B Class budget movie, the entertainment and thriller parts are present. With the superb performance of Oscar winner Vincent D'Onofrio, this movie is definitely outstanding amongst any no brainer futuristic thrillers with sheer visual effects.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Avoid at all costs!
Review: The brilliant, Oscar-worthy production design is deserving of a much better film but, unfortunately, is utterly wasted on this celluloid void, as are the talents of Gary Sinise, Tony Shalhoub and Vincent D'Onofrio. Avoid at all costs!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Thanks to the reviewers, I saw and LOVED this movie!
Review: Outstanding movie people! Awesome ending. You TOTALLY didn't see it coming. I'm telling all my friends to rent this great movie!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good movie with a great ending.
Review: Didn't know what to expect when I saw this movie, but I am a Gary Sinese fan and enjoy his work.
I was not disappointed. It keeps you thinking and changing your mind throughout.
If you are looking for a good sci-fi flick with a great ending, then this is one to watch.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Imposter has an identity crisis
Review: The Imposter is a typical PK story. We go eighty years into the future, a time when the earth is under attack by the alien race of Centaurians. All humans now live under large domes to protect themselves from open air attacks.

A prominent young scientist is accused of being an andriod carrying a bomb in his rib cage, programmed to go off within a certain proximity to am important public figure. What ensues is a 'fugitive' style race, during which the formerly prominent professor is forced to confront questions about his own reality (am I who I think I am), the suspicions of his own wife, and the desperate situation of a group of people, called the Zonelanders, living outside of the dome and government control.

While all of this is entertaining enough, and indeed the movie provides a couple of excellent surprises in its culmination, there isn't much that is fully developed. While the movie is billed as sci-fi and holds up an expensive background to support that arguement, there isn't much sci-fi about it. We never learn much about the Centaurians, or even get to see them during the movie. There are strong elements of the macabre which really don't belong at all. For example, a medical machine designed to scan the body should normally operate in a methodical pattern. Instead the movie goer is shown a spider like contraption made of steel, which moves in a frighteningly uncontrolled manner. The Zonelanders provide another possiblity for very interesting story development that never comes through. It is hinted at that there is much there, but unfortunately we only get to see them for a few moments as part of the chase.

Overall, The Imposter was fairly entertaining, but certainly could have been better. On the DVD it is stated that the movie was originally concieved as a trilogy, but that during development it was decided to create a single movie. I suspect that this is where things might have gone south. We end up with neither a strong sci-fi flick, sci-horror flick, personal drama, or even fugitive chase. Instead, the movie comes off as a little of this and a little of that. Blah-blah...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Falls Short
Review: Like (the far superbly filmed)MINORITY REPORT, IMPOSTER is based on an interesting Philip K.Dick short story. Unfortunately for those involved(viewers and actors), that interest doesn't translate to screen, at least not in this version. Admittedly, I was holding out hope for more, especially considering the acting talent involved--Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D'Onofrio,etc.--but it appears as though they were far less involved, at least emotionally, than is required to deliver on a plot full of holes. The plot kicks into low-gear(and stays there) when Sinise's character is accused of being an alien with a bomb planted in his chest that would cause the end of their world as they know it. D'Onofrio(again going waaayy over-the-top)is the guy on his trail, and the always superb Stowe is Sinise's physician wife(and highly wasted in an ultimately thankless role). Sinise gives an atypically cardboard perfomance(he seems to be coasting throughout)--in fact, only Tony Shalhoub(as Sinise's best friend)and Mekhi Phifer show any signs of life onscreen. Admittedly, the twist ending is almost worth wading through the film for--I said almost. If the rest of the film sustained even a fraction of the surprise that the ending contained, it would have been a far better view. As such, the film's title is apropos--it's definately an impostor trying to pass itself off as a good film. It doesn't succeed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An 'Impostor' of Science Fiction
Review: IMPOSTOR is supposed to be a science fiction movie, but the elements of traditional science fiction are so diluted that this film was actually closer to a MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE type thriller. We are told that by the next century Earth has fought a losing battle with the aggressive Centauri, a race that looks much like our own. The Centauri possess superior technology so they seem to have gained the upper hand by chasing Earthmen from colonized planets and in effect quarrantining them on Earth. Now this premise could have been the start of a much more interesting picture that could have made better use of all this. However, the movie would have us believe that with the Centauri ruling the heavens, they would still find it necessary to finish off humanity by assassinating key Earth officials. As soon as weapons designer Spencer Olham (Gary Sinise) is accused of being a cloned replicant of the now deceased original, we are manipulated into believing that he is still human. If this sounds a little like the premise of TOTAL RECALL, the reason is that Philip K. Dick wrote the stories for both. What follows this accusation is a standard 'Fugitive' type chase film, in which Vincent D'Onofrio stands in for the Tommy Lee Jones marshall. The chase itself is set against a future society which is highly regimented, each citizen carrying within himself a microchip identity implanted in the spine. The problem with the glitzy futuristic extrapolation of current technology is that it was not needed to advance the plot. Do you remember the original television series THE INVADERS? That series had a similar plot to this, but the society of architect David Vincent formed an integral part of the plot. With IMPOSTOR, any society of today could have served as well. On the plus side, Sinise does his usual credible job of playing the confused or angry outsider. Madeline Stowe is convincing as his wife, whose function it is to be the catalyst for a surprise ending that truly caught me off guard. IMPOSTOR is a big money special effects movie that zips along fast enough so that some of the objections just noted may get overlooked. My primary objection is that IMPOSTOR is itself an impostor of science fiction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'd give this SIX STARS if I could!!! Don't DEPRIVE yourself
Review: I'm no Trekkie, but I know great SCI-FI movies when I see 'em. This movie was great, from beginning to end, it had me on the edge of my seat, seriously. I'm not going to get in to the story because I want you to see it with a clear mind(so don't read any more of the reviews because they may ruin it for you). All I can say is it is NEVER LEAVING MY DVD COLLECTION(NEVER-EVER!). A must for ANY DVD collector. I read some of the reviews and thought this movie was going to be lame. Sadly, those reviews may make real action/sci-fi movie lovers miss a FANTASTIC movie. Don't deprive yourself of this AWESOME flick. You may not be as crazy about it as I am, but you'll be a better person for it ... seriously, rent it, watch it on cable, whatever you have to do, see it, YOU'LL LOVE IT...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: this ain't no B-movie
Review: Impressed to say the least. The good: it's a great story that kept my attention to the end, the acting was above par (even for secondary roles), and good Sci-fi is so rare. The downside: use of helmets taken directly from "Starship Troopers" wardrobe, and somewhat repetitive CGI shots. Overall the CGI was impressive though and seemed to help carry and enhance the story instead of being the feature. The main thing is not to miss this movie if you enjoy good sci-fi. I had never even heard of it while it was in the theatre.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pleasantly surprised
Review: (I give this movie 5 stars, with no regrets, to outweigh the unthinking one star reviews, even though it is really only a 2.5 star movie.)

Anyone who gave this movie only one star must not be watching any really bad movies! I didn't notice the special effects as being that great. Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe and Vincet D'Onofrio are good. What I liked was the story which was enticing enough to keep you watching. The movie moves well. Good pace, trimmed of useless filler. Not the equal of 12 Monkeys, Blade Runner obviously, but I was pleasantly surprised. (Since there was no thumbs up from Ebert and Roeper, I assumed it would be REALLY bad.)


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