Review of Gattaca (1997) by Horcrux2007 — 14 May 2016

Uma Thurman pre-Bride and Ethan Hawke pre-stuck doing every Blumhouse movie star in a high-concept thriller about the human eugenics controversy. Gattaca takes place in the near future where "designer babies" are a social norm where parents can choose the most desirable traits of their unborn babies (athletic, tall, intelligent, etc.

), and people with undesirable genetics are discriminated against. One man, Vincent, has dreams of space travel, but because of his inferior genetics, he is relegated to being the janitor at the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.

A chance of a lifetime comes his way when an employee at Gattaca offers to allow Vincent to assume his identity for a trip Titan. However, the murder of the mission director and a blooming romance with another employee threaten to reveal Vincent's true identity.

Gattaca deftly blends its more dramatic moments with unique sci-fi thrills to give a smart little thriller. Although, because of its lofty ambitions and concept, the plot has to force some things to just work out so that it can keep moving forward.

A couple of these instances could have been more thoroughly explained in a short scene since the running time isn't terribly long anyway. Another tiny issue is that the reveal of the murderer is pretty anticlimactic.

With all the buildup, you'd expect a big surprise, but when it's revealed, it's quickly acknowledged and then forgotten about. The best thing about Gattaca, though, is its incredible writing. There's a lot of quotable lines that I'm sure have led to its status as a cult flick.

Along with its ambitious ideas and engrossing plot, Gattaca is a taut, memorable cult sci-fi thriller.