Review of Strange Days (1995) by Dustin M — 19 Nov 2009
Written and produced by James Cameron, and directed by his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, (best known for directing Near Dark and Point Break), comes this complex and quite confusing thriller, but it's trying to be a thinkpiece, but it gets caught caught up in it's own complexities.
But, the action, when it does come along, is fun to watch. There's too many ideas on display, which is a shame, as alot of them do work, but the plot weighs them down. Set in December 1999, where Los Angeles, and indeed much of America has become a police state, where tensions between the police and the public have reached a high.
It has street hustler Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) who deals in 'SQUID' recordings, which are recordings of what people see, recorded onto MiniDiscs, (that dates the film!! ) The murder of rapper Jeriko One (Glenn Plummer), who was critical of the police brutality comes with it's own SQUID recording, which could bring down the police state, so Lenny and bodyguard friend Lornette "Mace" Mason (Angela Bassett) try to get the tape seen so that the police can be brought down.
It's quite confusing at first, but once you get into it, it is quite enjoyable. But, it's too long even to contain all it's ideas, but it's fun while it lasts, and Ralph Fiennes makes a good if unlikely action hero.
This review of Strange Days (1995) was written by Dustin M on 19 Nov 2009.
Strange Days has generally received positive reviews.
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