Gattaca

Rating:
Summary: A truly impressive movie!
Review: This movie is not your typical sci-fi film. With a plot that draws you in and an incredible mix of drama and science fiction, Gattaca is an absolutely incredible movie. Ethan Hawke and Jude Law work together incredibily well and complement each other nicely. Throw Uma Thurman into the mix as Ethan's love interest and the movie takes off like a rocket. This movie also shows that you don't neccessarily need lots of sex, violence, and language to make an incredible movie.

Rating:
Summary: Human Interest Science Fiction
Review: _Gattaca_ is not a movie about explosions, shootouts, or alien monsters. It's all about the human spirit, in overcoming the limitations of a repressive society in the not-too-distant future. It has the elements of _Brave New World_ and _1984_.

Vincent (Ethan Hawke) illegally assumes the identity of a genetic "superman" (crippled in an accident) in order to become a space pilot, rather than scrub floors for the rest of his life. Those two characters couldn't be more opposite. One has the "wrong" genes; the other has the right ones but no ambition.

The acting is excellent, particularly that of underrated Ethan Hawke and Jufe Law. The whole style is chrome retro-70s and 80s, especially the homes and social centres of the genetic elite. Add a dash of mystery and suspense, for an excellent movie. The technology of _Gattaca_ is inconsistent, such as manned Titan probes along with 1990s computers. Another example is medical technology able to predict lifespans from a drop of blood, but not fix a broken spine. That last one may be deliberate, and if so, another sad comment on that society and its priorities.

Those convinced that science fiction has no soul really need to see this movie!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: Ok, first of all if you only enjoy movies where stuff gets blown up, HIT THE ROAD, this movie is not for immature morons. That being said I really liked this movie.

Recently, there have been some serious ethical concerns raised about human genomes and cloning which this movie addresses. What if you could screen out negative genes, such as bad eyesight or hair loss, and breed the perfect child. Would you? The director really gives you something to think about.

And the acting in Gattaca is first rate. How Jude Law wasn't nominated for an Oscar for his role of Eugene 'the Valid' is beyond me but then again most things are. And Pulp Fiction babe Uma Thurman adds glamor to the stiff Ethan Hawke.

The reason I think this movie has become so popular is that movies these days are repetitive. All those mindless action movies where stuff gets blown up every two seconds drive me crazy. That's why when something different comes along, like Gattaca, people tune in.

So buy or rent Gattaca and a good time will be had by all!

Rating:
Summary: a completely enveloping experience
Review: I've seen 'Gattaca' twice, and each time been more moved by it. Its strength is in the simplicity of its premise, and its subtle suggestion of a future at only a slight remove from our own. The acting is low-key, and the emotional tenor of the film is highly controlled, so a lot of the emotion the story makes us feel is internalized --- we feel Vincent's frustration at the glass ceiling dashing his hopes and ambitions, as well as the fabulous Jude Law's guilt and self-recrimination for having had everything going for him, yet failing to achieve. The musical score heightens the story, and lends it a haunting sense of deep sadness at the state to which the world has succombed. There are no special effects --- there is only the here and now, and this movie seems to have timeless things to say about the individual's refusal to be boxed in, and the impossibility of predicting human fate and destiny. The particularities of this future universe keep the focus small, in order to open up a wider, limitless realm of human emotion. 'Gattaca' is a minor gem, an overlooked classic.

Rating:
Summary: New World
Review: Gattaca: Andrew Niccol has given us a sneak peak to a future world, that's not too distant in the future. This Movie is for anyone out there who really enjoyed films like (Clockwork Orange) and (BladeRunner) a future world where you are basically told if you are part of it or NOT.. The Music score takes you for a ride and never let's you go.. Gattaca is a rare gem, and the DVD shows a clear picture. This is a movie to buy and watch 10 or more times, Andrew, we can only hope you might do this again.

Rating:
Summary: No gene for the human spirit (or apparently not for emotion)
Review: Wolverine from the X-men. The Fonz from Happy Days. Han Solo from Star Wars. Spock from Star Trek. Ayukawa Madoka from Kimagure orenji rôdo. Even Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. These characters all have several things in common. 1) They are all very Cool™, 2) All were supporting characters (as opposed to the stars) of their particular story, 3) All were the only Cool™ characters in their story.

Number three is the thing that really made them work. It is a proven fact that people like "the cool character" and so many times a writer of a book or a movie or a television show or even professional wrestling tries to make all the characters "cool." But when every character is a cold, stoic, cigarette smoking SOB with a killer instinct, the effect is diminished. This is the major problem with the movie Gattaca.

One could theorize that Writer/Director Andrew Niccol was trying to make a statement about the loss of humanity that occurs in a world built on gene-gineered perfection. But if this is the case, then the metaphor never really materializes. Instead we have a film where all the characters are so cool... so intense... that it is hard to actually identify with any of them. Again, it could be argued that this is intentional, but somehow, I feel as though my inability to truly identify with Ethan Hawke's Vincent character removes something from my enjoyment of the film.

That said, I must admit that I did enjoy Gattaca. For starters, the film is simply breathtakingly beautiful. Furthermore, the concept behind the film is very ambitious and Niccol exploration of the idea is very concise and complete. The ideas generated by the questions this movie asks can provide the viewer with philosophical musings for the rest of the evening.

The lead actors, Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman (not to mention supporting actors Jude Law and Loren Dean) provide no shortage of eye-candy for male of female viewers. One cannot find a fault in Hawke's acting in this film (or Thurman's to be fair) so much as with the characters they were portraying.

The tragedy of this film is that there could have been a beautiful love story here. But the characters are so cold that it is hard to see why Irene (Thurman) and Vincent (Hawke) would fall for each other at all. The only truly attractive quality either displays is unbelievable drive.

Despite its faults, this film is still somewhat recommended. The cinematography is excellent and the ideas presented are so insightful that I can look past the faults of the movie enough to give it 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Film
Review: Gattaca revolves around the notion that in the future your life is predetermined at birth. They can tell when you will die, if you will have any diseases, and what sort of future you have in store. Ethan Hawke is someone who is born to 2 loving parents in a time when most babies are genetically created in a lab. Ethan Hawke takes a job as a janitor at the Gattaca company, but he wants more, he wants to be a part of this company. He soon finds a way to make the switch to the other side, and has to watch his back the whole time.

This film was shot in the style of some of the greatest films. It is very stylized, telling a great story with good acting and a thought provoking script. This film may have been billed as more of a science fiction film, but it does not use the conventional methods of sci-fi. This film never has a shootout with futuristic guns, nor does it have aliens that look they walked out of the Cantina from Star Wars.

There is very little objectionable language, and a scene of violence that does not show the specific attack. This is a film for those of us that are sick and tired of watching the same drivel.

Rating:
Summary: Ethan Hawke: He's Going To Be Big
Review: Here is an actor who is not wasting his time making junk and playing roles beneath his level of talent. Hawke is consistently picking one intelligent screenplay after another for his leading man vehicles. So it is gratifying to view one of the most intelligent sci-fi films that I've seen in a long time. I like sci-fi films but there sure is a lot of junk out there. The premise is ingenious. Hawke was conceived the old fashioned way, in the back seat of a car without his parents using any genetic planning. Hence, when he is tested for his genetic makeup, flaws are detected that have been engineered out of humans, including a predicted early death by heart disease. Hawke is fated to become a garbage man because of this deficiency when he wants to be a space explorer. Where there's a will, there's a way. Jude Law plays a paraplegic who donates his genetic material to Hawke so that he can take his identity and get to space. There is also a romance with Uma Thurman, who Hawke romanced in real life as a result of this movie and then married. She comes across about the same as usual, which is lovely and articulate. However, her performance seems stuck on one note with little variation, my usual complaint regarding her performances. Thus, this did not knock me out as a love story. That's the only reason this is not a 5 star movie. The sci-fi aspects are all excellent though. Hubby, who could care less about the so-so romance aspects, gives it a solid 5. This is also a visually gorgeous film. A future world is believably created and it is both stunning and frightening. Although special effects were used in this, I was not noticing each and every one of them. This is a compliment; when I am noticing, the magic of filmmaking is not working.

Rating:
Summary: The best kind of science fiction movie
Review: Andrew Niccol does a very special kind of science fiction. He doesn't make stories about machines or technologies, but about how people are affected by these things. "Gattaca" is a very special example of this concept. Genetic engineering is a huge subject in the moment wich we are changing of the century and the millennium. In this movie we see what could happen to us if this technology is used in a stupid way. How many kids would not even be born, how many dreams could never happen? What it tries to show is that even the most handicapped person can do special physical and mental feats. And that is what Vincent, the central character, does. Being a natural born human (made naturally, with no genetic corrections in his DNA) technically, he can't compete with his enhanced contenders. So he can't get a good job and then he can't fulfill his dearest dream: travel through space. So what he does is cheat. He cheats the whole system and get a job, using genetic samples from an enhanced guy. But when someone is found murdered, Vincent turns out to be the number one suspect. Using this plot, Niccol manages to tell a touching story about friendship, love, ethics, and about how far can someone go for a dream. And how people can ignore genetic determinism and make a difference. In the DVD, there is an optional endind that shows how many important people from humanity's history could not have been born if genetic detreminism happened before. Even though Niccol manipulates the plot too much to prove his points of view, the movie, the acting and the great end, make you think about the subjects raised by this movie for a long time. A good movie to spend a dinner talking about. And. with "Matrix"and "Twelve Monkeys", one of the best of the decade.

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Excellent Film
Review: This film is undoubtedly one of the finest films I've ever seen. The acting is superb. The story is intelligent and unfolds wonderfully. The music draws you in like you would never imagine. This movie is executed in a way that you really believe that someday a world like the one in 'Gattaca' could very well exist. Everything is believable, and maybe that is what is so scary (and eye opening) about it.

And in the end it is a heart warming story about the perseverane of the human spirit. You owe it to yourself to buy it, then watch it, then watch it again. It's so good I watched it once, then my girlfriend showed up and I watched it with her again right away. As I said, a truly excellent film.