Review of A Scanner Darkly (2006) by Dave A — 05 Jul 2011

Mmmm, what can I say - I fell asleep during the movie, and had to rewind to see what I'd missed. I'd heard that this was a good film, however it struck me as a rather lifeless and impersonal film, in which I there was little about the characters to relate to - Downey plays his usual role of erratic and haphazard, Keanu is like watching a piece of wood act, and Harrelson does his comedic part, but there are no great performances there to lift the film.

The film tells a story, yes, but not a particularly interesting one, or one that (despite what the reviewers say) is particularly complex. I haven't read the novel, and maybe it's required in order to "understand" this movie, however I'd like to think a movie can stand on it's own - this one doesn't. In the end the twist just left me with the thinking "and so what?".