Review of eXistenZ (1999) by Newt C — 31 May 2008

I wanted to like this more than I did. I'm on and off with Cronenberg. Sometimes I dig him, sometimes I don't. I liked the more philosophical approach to the whole Matrix idea of being "plugged in", but in the end the film relies on almost as much action to carry the story forward.

And movies involving life-like video games always ring a little false to me. Moreso than a movie usually does. It's not necessarily Cronenberg's fault but more the limitations of video game technology that I frankly can't see ever being overcome.

The gristle-gun was pretty cool, the actors did a good job, and there were moments in the story that made me smile. But the weakness of the overall world, the reliance on sub-par action scenes, and some of the overly philosophical dialogue took me out of the film.

It's definitely worth viewing, but probably not more than once.