Dr. Bejamin Trace creates a brilliant device which allows unhindered access to all sources of electronic information: banks, hospitals, etc. When he questions their motives, the corporation that funded his research take him to court and claim the device as their own. Since Trace -- the only man who can make it work -- takes off to who-knows-where, the corporation pulls a crippled Jobe from the wreckage of the first movie and offer him a job.
Several years down the road, Jobe's secret work has lead to a future that's advanced on the surface, but hides a sad underbelly of poverty and unemployment. Jobe's nearly cracked the networking device, but needs to find Trace for the last crucial bits, so he contacts his old friend Pete, who's working the streets with a gang of homeless hackers. Pete's overjoyed that Jobe is alive and tracks the nomadic Trace down in a desert home free of modern convenience, only to learn that Jobe has plans of his own for the networking device. Plans that go far beyond the sharing or stealing of information.
First off, this film is cheap. It was made on a nonexistent budget and skipped out of the theaters before people even knew it existed. But, that aside, it works.
The sets and costumes brilliantly portray a Blade Runner-style future clearly divided between the haves and have-nots. The casting is perfect, from Patrick Bergan's portrayal of Trace as a man shoved around so long he finally ran away from the world, and Eli Pouget as Jobe's doctor who falls for her patient's seeming innocence. But the rowdy gang of kids steal the show. Heck, even Frewer, who I normally don't enjoy, does a decent job.
Farhad Mann deserves credit for a well constructed story with plenty of twists and turns that moves at a perfect pace. And more credit for bringing that script to life on such a meager budget.
There's really only two problems I have with the film.
First, Jobe doesn't gel with the original movie. Frewer's portrayal is of an anarchistic goof along the lines of Batman's Joker (especially the animated version), whereas Fahey played him as a twisted Buddha, one who thinks on a level beyond those around him. The performance works, though, if you just approach it as a different character.
Secondly, the VR scenes with actors in front of blue screen suffer when compared to the dated but beautiful cgi of the original. They still look fairly good, superimposing the actors over sprawling cybernetic vistas, but I guess I just miss the gimmick from the first one.
I like this movie. I know many out there don't, but I do. It's a rare sequel that tries to take the story off in a new direction.
Several years down the road, Jobe's secret work has lead to a future that's advanced on the surface, but hides a sad underbelly of poverty and unemployment. Jobe's nearly cracked the networking device, but needs to find Trace for the last crucial bits, so he contacts his old friend Pete, who's working the streets with a gang of homeless hackers. Pete's overjoyed that Jobe is alive and tracks the nomadic Trace down in a desert home free of modern convenience, only to learn that Jobe has plans of his own for the networking device. Plans that go far beyond the sharing or stealing of information.
First off, this film is cheap. It was made on a nonexistent budget and skipped out of the theaters before people even knew it existed. But, that aside, it works.
The sets and costumes brilliantly portray a Blade Runner-style future clearly divided between the haves and have-nots. The casting is perfect, from Patrick Bergan's portrayal of Trace as a man shoved around so long he finally ran away from the world, and Eli Pouget as Jobe's doctor who falls for her patient's seeming innocence. But the rowdy gang of kids steal the show. Heck, even Frewer, who I normally don't enjoy, does a decent job.
Farhad Mann deserves credit for a well constructed story with plenty of twists and turns that moves at a perfect pace. And more credit for bringing that script to life on such a meager budget.
There's really only two problems I have with the film.
First, Jobe doesn't gel with the original movie. Frewer's portrayal is of an anarchistic goof along the lines of Batman's Joker (especially the animated version), whereas Fahey played him as a twisted Buddha, one who thinks on a level beyond those around him. The performance works, though, if you just approach it as a different character.
Secondly, the VR scenes with actors in front of blue screen suffer when compared to the dated but beautiful cgi of the original. They still look fairly good, superimposing the actors over sprawling cybernetic vistas, but I guess I just miss the gimmick from the first one.
I like this movie. I know many out there don't, but I do. It's a rare sequel that tries to take the story off in a new direction.