Review of A Scanner Darkly (2006) by Kevin G — 11 Jul 2010

Visionary director Richard Linklater perfectly blends an all-star cast, stunning visuals, and a faithful-to-the-source screenplay (penned by Linklater himself) to create one of the most overlooked and underrated science fiction films of the last decade.

First-time viewers may be too distracted by Linklater's trademark rotoscope animation (which is WAY more colorful, fine-tuned in detail, and less nauseous than 2003's "A Waking Life") to fully absorb the story-under-the-story that's going on here, but giving A Scanner Darkly another viewing (or 5) will definitely give the audience more pieces of Phillip K Dick's beautiful storyline puzzle.

Not to mention there's a cool mix of genres here. You will laugh, there's mystery, social and political overtones, and a surprisingly great (rare) fitting performance by Keanu Reeves. Cause you know, he usually sucks.