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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Clear demonstration of where star power can carry a movie, June 7, 2002
"Virtuosity" is by no means a great movie. Simply put, it is a typical late-summer, action-thriller, popcorn flick. But, it's a case where the performance of the lead actors transcends the quality of the story. The story itself involves a cop named Parker Barnes who has fallen on hard times after being unable to stop his wife and daughter from being murdered and accidentally killing innocent civilians in pursuit of the man who committed the crime. His attempt at redemption comes at the hands a computer program that is the composite of profiles of several hundred serial killers and mass criminals (including the one who murdered Barnes' family) called Syd 6.7. Syd 6.7 somehow managed to break free of his computer-generated environment and is wrecking havoc on the general populace. Only Barnes seems to have the ability to defeat him. It's an interesting premise, but its execution is pedestrian at best. What keeps the movie afloat is the perfomances of Denzel Washington as Barnes and Russell Crowe as Syd 6.7. Washington effectively portrays Barnes as a man who's struggling with the demons of his failure years earlier and who wants desperately to defeat Syd as a kind of salvation for himself. Crowe, who was a relative unknown at this point, plays Syd with as a bit of an over-the-top psychopath (which is to be expected given the characters psychological makeup), but also manages to do so with a bit of wit and charm that makes Syd seem like an almost likeable anti-hero. Denzel Washington's credentials as one of the best actors in the business were well known prior to the making of "Virtuosity". He had won an Best Support Actor Oscar for "Glory" and should have won the Best Actor Oscar for "Malcolm X". His known strengths allowed him to transcend less-than-stellar material to make this movie enjoyable. Afterwards, he went on to memorable roles in "Courage Under Fire" (for which he should have been nominated for an Oscar, but wasn't), "The Hurricane" (for which he should have WON the Oscar, but didn't), and "Training Day" (where he finally got his due with a Best Actor Oscar, ironically by defeating Russell Crowe). Russell Crowe was practically unknown the public's eye at the time of this movie. He had made a memorable impression as a Neo-Nazi skinhead in "Romper Stomper", but few had seen this flick. His handling of the Syd 6.7 character demonstrated an acting ability that hinted at the promise of a long movie career. He subsequently followed "Virtuosity" with his first truly star-making role as tough-as-nails cop Bud White in "L.A. Confidential". His acting range continued to show itself in roles such as corporate whistle-blower, Jeffrey Wigand, in "The Insider", and as Roman warrior, Maximus, in the Oscar-winner "Gladiator" (for which Crowe, himself, won a Best Actor Oscar). While nothing more than summertime confection, "Virtuosity" is a fun watch if for no other reason than you get to see two of the best actors around perform their craft well together to help a mediocre movie become a entertaining one.
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DVD ~ Denzel Washington
DVD ~ Denzel Washington
DVD ~ Denzel Washington
DVD ~ Denzel Washington
DVD ~ Denzel Washington
