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MichaelLuton

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So, there's a bunch of losers addicted to some futuristic drug. Keaneu Reeves has to go undercover because... well infiltrating some small-time druggies doesn't seem like that big of a deal but the real agenda is revealed at the end. Aside from...
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So, there's a bunch of losers addicted to some futuristic drug. Keaneu Reeves has to go undercover because... well infiltrating some small-time druggies doesn't seem like that big of a deal but the real agenda is revealed at the end. Aside from the ending though the movie just wasn't that enjoyable to watch.

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Posted jul 20, 2007 4:51 am pt

Vyce3

-1

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There are some funny moments here and there but in my opinion this movie is a missed opportunity and aimed stuff at too many directions at once. The presentation is quite original though

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Posted may 26, 2007 11:44 am pt

NoOneIsAlone

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Great movie. It was awesome. It had a great plot and a lot of good pointns along with it. It was certainly something different from what you will be used to watch, and I just really think that the movie was very well done and played, and to be...
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Great movie. It was awesome. It had a great plot and a lot of good pointns along with it. It was certainly something different from what you will be used to watch, and I just really think that the movie was very well done and played, and to be honest, I just really like the film and the plot of it. Good movie.

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Posted mar 13, 2007 11:54 am pt

fyrephlie

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The film is directed by Richard Linklater, who has done a few movies I've enjoyed, but nothing I'm immensely big on. It has Keaneu Reeves as the main character Rob Arcter / Fred, and also includes some other big names in the supporting like,...
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The film is directed by Richard Linklater, who has done a few movies I've enjoyed, but nothing I'm immensely big on. It has Keaneu Reeves as the main character Rob Arcter / Fred, and also includes some other big names in the supporting like, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, Robert Downey, Jr., and Rory Cochrane. on top of that, big names like Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney are in the executive producer spots. There's enough big money name dropping involved on this one that it's almost bound to do well just on name draw alone.

A Scanner Darkly is based on a novel by the same name written by Pillip Kindred Dick. Pillip K. Dick is responsible in no small part for many infamous sci-fi movies, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report the screenplays for which are based on his works, a man that had died in 1982 his legacy has lived on, and probably will for some time. Currently in the works is the film Next, which is based on his story The Golden Man.

The story of A Scanner Darkly is a futuristic tale of the world and it's addiction to a new drug called 'Substance D', a highly addictive psychoactive drug. Undercover narcotics officers outside of the the seedy underworld they are trying to bring down wear special 'scramble suits' which resample their appearances and voice patterns constantly so that they cannot be identified, they wear these suits even when in the police station so that no one, even those directly superior to them, can figure out who they are. Inside the seedy underworld I referred to earlier, however, they take copius amounts of drugs, and therein lies the basis for our story. Substance D has a longterm, and violent affect on the users brain, causing the left hemisphere of the brain to begin to fail until the right hemisphere attempts to compensate, causing hallucinations, and general visual impairment. Robert Arcter, a narcotics officer known as Fred to the precint, is already beginning to feel the affects of prolonged use of D. He feels his mind unraveling around him, and as he's ordered to spy on himself and his friends using holographic scanners, the title of the story takes on it's meaning, as he wonders how the scanners see him, "clearly, or darkly?" The story has several twists and turns that, while somewhat predictable, still give you the feeling of being yanked around, and you feel in the dark, as if suffering with Arcter throughout the entire thing.

The acting is actually fairly good, considering the cast. I'm not a huge fan of ANY of the names in the film, but being that half the main cast are real life drug addicts and activists, I suppose the 'acting' wasn't too hard for them anyway. The big draw for me, at least at first, was the artistic value. It uses a technique called rotoscoping to produce vector keyframes which are interpolated and leave you with a beautiful and incredible visual spectacle. It, of course, is meant to add to the feeling of bizarre drug induced sight, which works really well. Had the film been merely left alone (without rotoscoping), it would not have had even near the effect it had otherwise.

My opinion? I really enjoyed it, it doesn't exactly rank on my top 10 list by any means, but it's fantastic and definitely worth an hour and a half of your life to watch.

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Posted feb 24, 2007 2:22 pm pt

The-Jaxter

-1

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Favorite movie. I think the whole movie is a perfect as a movie can get. It has comedy Drama, Sci-fi, Action. Its all good. I guess some people didn't like it cause it showed threw a drug addicts eyes what was going on. I think this movie is...
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Favorite movie. I think the whole movie is a perfect as a movie can get. It has comedy Drama, Sci-fi, Action. Its all good. I guess some people didn't like it cause it showed threw a drug addicts eyes what was going on. I think this movie is perfect for anybody.

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Posted jan 31, 2007 5:06 am pt

jpedigo

-1

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I'm a fan of PKD, so I was looking forward to this movie quite a bit...I have to say that I was a little disappointed...First off this could have been a better movie had they forgone the rotoscoping for good old CG. The rotoscoping certainly...
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I'm a fan of PKD, so I was looking forward to this movie quite a bit...I have to say that I was a little disappointed...First off this could have been a better movie had they forgone the rotoscoping for good old CG. The rotoscoping certainly didn't add to the feel of the movie, in fact I found it to be in the way most of the time...Thats just my personal opinion on the rotoscoping. The story follows the book pretty well, which hasn't happened to other PKD stories turned to movies (Blade Runner is not even really close to "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"), I guess having read the book before helped in viewing, my wife was lost in some parts and I had to explain. I think the actors did a good job in creating the characters they played, even Keanu...I must say the rotoscoping made Winona look better than she really is. I would have liked to see this movie sans rotoscoping and I think I would have enjoyed it much more.

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Posted jan 29, 2007 4:22 am pt

konichiwa21

-1

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The Good

+ the paranoia brings a enormous feel to the movie
+ hillarious scenes

The Bad

- the story isn't that great (i haven't read the book btw)

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Posted jan 27, 2007 6:18 am pt

Bozric

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I didn’t like this movie. I watched it three times to make sure, too!

The story is from an old Philip K. Dick book, which was written during the Watergate era and distrust of the government was rampant. It didn’t...
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I didn’t like this movie. I watched it three times to make sure, too!

The story is from an old Philip K. Dick book, which was written during the Watergate era and distrust of the government was rampant. It didn’t really translate to “7 years from now� - which is when the movie is supposed to take place. When it was all said and done, I was pretty much left trying to figure out A) what the heck were these idiots trying to accomplish and B) why did I waste the time watching this movie?

All that aside, I thought the acting, especially on Robert Downey Jr.’s part, was great. The animation was truly fascinating. Apparently, they filmed the entire thing and then rotoscoped the whole film. For those two reasons alone, the film got an extra star on the rating.

If you’re into artsy, down-with-the-man types of films, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

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Posted jan 16, 2007 3:48 am pt

booyadude

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You wouldn't believe it, but A Scanner Darkly is quite possibly the best movie so far this year. It is the deepest, moral, conflicting, sobering, and ultimately even hopeful move I've seen in a LONG time.

There's really nothing I...
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You wouldn't believe it, but A Scanner Darkly is quite possibly the best movie so far this year. It is the deepest, moral, conflicting, sobering, and ultimately even hopeful move I've seen in a LONG time.

There's really nothing I can say about that movie. To say anything would be to spoil the amazing experience it is. There's so much imagery and great acting, it's hard to lose interest. The ending is masterful, as it weaves together everything that has happened before it in a way that has never been done before.

Rotoscoping.

One word, thousands of possibilities. Seriously, it's amazing. Even if that was the one reasone that you had for going into the theater, you would leave satisfied. Everything has a meaning in A Scanner Darkly. I just spent an hour having a discussion about it, without stopping. It's just mind-blowing.

See it, and be amazed.

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Posted jan 14, 2007 8:53 am pt

Seraph67

-1

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A Scanner Darkly is an unique adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name, which is utterly bizarre and constantly stupid. The rotoscoping is used to magnify the surreal qualities that the movie uses, but back to the days it was first...
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A Scanner Darkly is an unique adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name, which is utterly bizarre and constantly stupid. The rotoscoping is used to magnify the surreal qualities that the movie uses, but back to the days it was first used in the 1978 Lord of the Rings, it lends itself to be pointless. The rotoscoping technique doesn't add to the surreal nature of this film but seems to distort it, by creating ugly animation and the constant moving background gets on your nerves after some time. There is some intrigue within the police department, but after a while the atmosphere within the justice system, like the scramble suits, it changes. For half the movie the movie seemed to go no where, just following drug addicted characters having extremely bizarre conversations. Watching characters who talk about doing drugs to this extent isn't interesting. And there are some moments where you aren't sure what exactly is happening and the movie doesn't resort to finding the methods to resolve those conclusions. The performances are quite bland, except the talent Robert Downey Jr., however he just seems like a self indulged addicted psycho. Reeves gives another boring performance and cannot top the best performance in his career since Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Ryder also is not memorable and Woody Harrelson seems to have the IQ that equals a small child. Overall, this movie is pretty terrible that just offers numerous conversations and perspectives of the drug infested and indulged world, even with the good guys from the justice system, who just seem as addicted to the drugs as the addicts themselves.

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Posted jan 5, 2007 12:20 pm pt

• [+] Premiere
  
  100
  The most impressive thing about the film's technical wizardry is, finally, how unimpressive it is. One doesn't leave the movie with a mind blown by visual bedazzlement but with a soul shattered by the profound sense of tragedy Linklater and company so beautifully put across.

  by Glenn Kenny | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Reader
  
  100
  The casting of Reeves in the lead role is inspired: who better than the star of "The Matrix" and its sequels, a trilogy that borrows heavily from Dick's sensibility and obsessions, to play a personality split through overindulgence in drugs and manipulation by outside forces he barely recognizes?

  by Andrea Gronvall | Read Full Review »
• [+] Christian Science Monitor
  
  91
  Probably the most faithful to the writer's tortured spirit. It's the kind of movie that gets under your skin - and stays there.

  by Peter Rainer | Read Full Review »
• [+] Los Angeles Times
  
  90
  The brilliance of A Scanner Darkly is how it suggests, without bombast or fanfare, the ways in which the real world has come to resemble the dark world of comic books.

  by Carina Chocano | Read Full Review »
• [+] Dallas Observer
  
  90
  What a breath of fresh air this stifling, claustrophobic, boldly uningratiating vision of an American subculture's last gasp imparts to its contrarian core audience. (Call me a hopeless addict: I've seen it three times.)

  by Rob Nelson | Read Full Review »
• [+] Washington Post
  
  90
  Without its animation, A Scanner Darkly would have made a fine cautionary tale about drug addiction, paranoia and institutional treachery in a police state. But with a technique that turns the existing live action into a two-dimensional cartoon, the movie goes one -- maybe even 10 -- better. It becomes its own living, breathing metaphor.

  by Desson Thomson | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Tribune
  
  88
  It's one of the most faithful movie adaptations of any Dick story to date, and it comes from the scariest of all his books, as well as the truest.

  by Michael Wilmington | Read Full Review »
• [+] Salon.com
  
  80
  There's no other filmmaker, living or dead, who could produce a futuristic sci-fi nightmare, a hipster comedy, a haunting film noir and a cartoon, all in the same movie.

  by Andrew O'Hehir | Read Full Review »
• [+] Village Voice
  
  80
  Downey, who, having grasped that he's playing a cartoon character, delivers the most animated performance. (Midway through 2006, this supporting turn is the performance to beat in what seems the year's American movie to beat.)

  by J. Hoberman | Read Full Review »
• [+] LA Weekly
  
  80
  As they (Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson) bicker and banter, threaten one another with small household objects, and try (unsuccessfully) to determine the number of gears on a bicycle, they display a combination of irritability and incompetence that is the soul of comedy.

  by Christopher Orr | Read Full Review »
• [+] Empire
  
  80
  Its intelligence makes it near-essential viewing.

  by Kim Newman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Portland Oregonian
  
  75
  Turns out to be more ordinary than the recipe might suggest. Oh, it's dense and funny and assured, but it's also chatty and listless in a fashion that constrains a narrative film, which, however reluctantly, it is.

  by Shawn Levy | Read Full Review »
• [+] Baltimore Sun
  
  75
  With everything this film has going for it - humor, intelligence and a splendid ensemble - Richard Linklater's nightmare drug movie, A Scanner Darkly, should be continually compelling. But it loses its fizz after a strong series of pops.

  by Michael Sragow | Read Full Review »
• [+] Boston Globe
  
  75
  There's conspiracy here, as there is in all of Dick's books, and it wraps the film up with a moving but somewhat neat bowtie.

  by Ty Burr | Read Full Review »
• [+] TV Guide
  
  75
  But transforming full, live-action performances into quavering cartoons isn't inherently lyrical, and here it produces the jittery sense of a world dissolving into flat forms and buzzing prattle.

  by Maitland McDonagh | Read Full Review »