Customer Reviews

eXistenZ

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(58)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(45)

 

 

Although eXistenZ came out around the same time as The Matrix, it seems to be a response to that film. Where The Matrix gave you a digital divide between reality and virtual reality, eXistenZ takes place in the gray area between.

But it's not a PK Dick rehash. Cronenberg spends as much time on the characters and their motives as he does on pseudo-intellectual questions of reality. (The film is also a humorous spoof of computer-game devotees.) Although there are a lot of scenes that lay flat --- instead of moving the plot forward --- the actors are so good, everything is easy to watch. Willem Dafoe is charming and scary as Gas, and Jude Law plays a pitch-perfect resourceful sidekick to Jennifer Jason Leigh. (You also have to hand it to Cronenberg for making the central character female without making her a damsel in distress or an masculine action heroine.)

This is a low-key but excellent movie. It's the kind of film you can enjoy over and over, picking up new bits of detail every time. It's not for everyone, of course. Cronenberg can repel some viewers with gooey special effects and psychological drama. But I think it's one of his best films, and certainly one of the best in 1999.

Your perception may be altered by this science fiction harbinger of things to come by David Cronenberg.. Continuing in the same vein of films like 'Videodrome' and 'Scanners' Cronenberg examines the effects of scientific progress and the fate of mankind.. It is so often the goal of game technicians, movie makers, and perhaps even the distributors of mind altering substances to create an alternate universe.. the nightmare of such endeavors is that it will lead to absolute confusion.. seperation from self.. it is something appealing yet terrifying.. to lose touch with reality.. this is what makes eXistenZ such an engaging thriller - one of the most thought provoking movies you will ever see.

I truly feel sorry for anyone who was turned away from this movie by Ambrose's review (Although I doubt any intellegent human being would be). Maybe using spell check for your review and actually paying attention to the movie might make your review a little more credible. Anyway, "eXistenZ" is in my opinion Cronenberg's best film to date. This film is NOT for the typical movie watcher. For The life of me I can't figure out why everyone likes to see movies where you can just sit passively for an hour and a half and not think or learn anything. Just throw in Will Smith, some action, comedy, state of the art CG, and a little brief nudity and the general public will eat it up. "eXistenZ" is definitely not one of these movies. It really does "Make The Matrix Look Like Child's Play!" In fact, it blows all 3 Matrix's right out of the water. For anyone who liked "Videodrome" or "Naked Lunch" this film is not just a must see but a must own. My personal Favorite.

Cronenberg probably conjures the best depiction of "virtual reality" and its potential psychological effect on people in this often incredible film. This is a tough and frequently unpleasant movie (what Cronenberg film isn't), relentless even (much like a video game!), but as social/technological criticism it has legs galore. I find myself studying the art direction, acting, and script to see how he tweaks and disorients so subtly all through the entire film. It is meticulously crafted. The "bad acting" noted by the other reviewers is a depiction of social disorientation, detachment, sociopathology, and near-autism in a nightmarish future society where people can no longer distinguish between illusion and reality (and, as you learn from the film, neither can the audience). The final moment of the film boldly makes that point.

My personal feeling is that this is Cronenberg's greatest achievement. However, it is high art and those that go into it with conventional film expectations will be (clearly ARE) disappointed. One for future film historians to write about, unable to comprehend how it sat on the fringes of acceptance for years. The negative reviews of this film deeply disturb me.

i didn't know what to think of this movie at first but after about the thirty minute mark i couldn't stop watching. its got plenty of plot twist and was really a good movie to watch curled up on the couch when you have nothing to do.

This movie was very spell binding to me and to everyone that watched it with me. I just loved this movie and it was this movie that turned me on to David Cronenberg films. I love the way he directs his films in a way that you don't know what is going to come next. They all have you on your edge of your seat right up until the end. Unique plot, great acting and wonderful story with this one. I hightly recommend it to everyone that loves supense and thrill rides in a film.

This movie was very good as is challenges you to keep up on what is happening. There are two realeases of the movie on DVD, one is the American release, one from Canada. I'm assuming this is the Canadan release which is the verson I recommend getting (there are two listed here at Amazon). There is no movie difference, but the canadian release has extras like director commentary, documentaries, etc. and the US version has nothing like this.

First off, can we please stop comparing this movie to 'The Matrix' simply because both movies are about virtual reality? It's a real waste of time trying to compare two movies that are so entirely different from one another. The only similarities are the ways that virtual reality can be used to enslave humans, but it ends there...

This movie isn't about action sequences...it is a more 'cerebral' movie that examines the unconscious aspects of VR systems and asks not "what is reality?" but rather "where is reality?" eXistenZ is a disorienting movie that never actually tells the viewer WHERE the characters are, leaving the characters and the viewers in a confused and disturbed state that is very effective about leaving us with a vague sense of unease about VR.

You've really got to pay close attention to this movie and eliminate distractions when watching it to get the full effect. (If you're someone with a low attention span who prefers the gun-fighting of 'The Matrix' then this isn't really for you. The Matrix is a great film, but it really is a different kind of film.) There are some really crazy twists, and the plot is at times difficult to follow along, but it is a very rewarding experience, especially if you can make it all the way to the end of the ride.

one of cronenbergs best films. if you like any of his films, this movie is for you.

The biggest strike against David Cronenberg's eXistenZ is the year that it came out - 1999. It was a summer dominated by Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss. Cronenberg's film covers strikingly similar territory to The Wachowski Brothers' comic book/kung fu/sci-fi/action opus, The Matrix. Whereas The Matrix was a big-budget Hollywood movie aimed at a wide mainstream audience, eXistenZ is an independent lower budget Canadian production aimed at a significantly smaller audience. Both movies deal with issues of technology, specifically actual reality versus computer-generated reality. That's where the similarities end. The Matrix may ask profound questions, but it's an action film at heart, and it's only interested in asking those questions so long as they pave the way for a set piece filled with special effects and stunts. Cronenberg is not interested in dazzling the viewer with effects and action. He wants to make the viewer think (and of course, feel completely repulsed and disgusted).

eXistenZ is a smart sci-fi thriller that is thought-provoking, complex and completely immersing. The premise is pure Cronenberg brilliance: A designer of virtual reality games which use living, organic "controllers" that plug into the user's spinal cord, is pursued by a gang of realists who resent her attempt to deform reality as we know it. She enters her game to make sure it wasn't damaged in the attack, and things get interesting from there. Is anyone even after her at all? What is real and what isn't? Cronenberg manages to infuse his usual trademarks into the story, particularly technology versus biology. The part synthetic/part organic game pods are very clever, and I especially liked the completely organic gun made of bones and cartilage which fires human teeth as bullets. Cronenberg loves to combine flesh and bone with technology as illustrated in many of his films. The film has its share of gross-out moments as per usual for the director. The Chinese restaraunt sequence was particularly memorable for me. This film may put you off Chinese food for good.

Cronenberg's vision is decidedly much darker than the comic book universe of The Matrix. I felt that The Matrix had good intentions but took the wrong approach. It's very difficult to successfully merge existentialist philosophy with action shoot-outs. The Wachowskis felt the need to dumb down their subject matter for the action movie crowds and the movie suffered as a result. David Cronenberg is not trying to make an action movie, so the ideas reign supreme here. The subject matter itself, is hardly original, but Cronenberg deals with it in a fresh and unique way adding his own grotesque sense of style. This is not a movie for all audiences, certainly. For those who like their science fiction cerebral, dark and grimy, eXistenZ should be right up their alley. I find it to be an overlooked gem of a film that is a great alternative to that over baked Hollywood cash cow The Matrix.