One of my favourites movie from Kathryn Bigelow with Point Break and K19, just before she decided to work for the army with The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. So disappointing ...
The film has interesting set of characters. Our hero Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) is not the typical action hero with martial prowess, instead he got his loyal, reliable friend Mace (Angela Bassett) who always come at desperate measure. It puts Lenny closer to us the audience, with us hoping Mace would come when Lenny slowly unveils the mystery he is facing.
However, with a considerable one hour-long build up, the ending to Strange Days seem to be a bit rushed and turned out the answer to the mystery pretty much simple--too simple, even. The characters involved in the mystery also don't seem to have a strong motive to be involved with the round of events to begin with. It makes the tense kinda wear off really fast and left an unsatisfying feel as the credits roll on.
Faith Justin: You know one of the ways movies are still better than playback? The music comes up, there's credits, and you always know when it's over... [turns to look at Lenny] IT'S OVER!
Other than the ending which definitely makes it lose a point, this is a very well done and well put together whodunnit in an alternate 1999/2000 cyberpunkish reality. Fiennes, Bassett, Sizemore (God has he really gone down hill since) and Lewis all do an excellent job. Lewis spends the majority of her scenes topless or with her tits out, nothing to complain about I might add. It's near 3 hour runtime but doesnt show it, but considering the amount that went into this, the ending really is the worst part about it. The hour of build up might sound like a lot, but it's worth it.
A relatively unknown movie despite Kathryn Bigelow as director, James Cameron as writer, Ralph Fienes, Angela Basset and Juliette Lewis in main roles, a pretty original concept (at least at the time) and a good enough story. That's a shame.
Society is, let's say pre apocalyptic. A lot of things are wrong, a lot of racial tensions, probably closer to these days' society than a the time it's depicting (New Year 2000). The atmosphere is grim, amplified by the mostly night time action. Lenny is a great antihero. Ex cop, dealing in illegal memory discs, kinda addict to it, obsessively hung up on Faith, his ex girlfriend even though it's very clearly over, compulsive liar, in debt. Can't even say he's a good guy gone bad, he still betrays his only friends left, and almost everything he does is not from a sense of good, or a desire of justice or anything, he just thinks he can get Faith back with it. That's very different from what we're used to seeing and that makes it very refreshing.
Most other characters are interesting and well built too. Mace, almost desesperately clinging to the drowning Lenny despite his total lack of care. Philo, rich asshole and Faith's new boyfriend. Max, another ex cop and only other friend of Lenny. Faith has little more defining feature than being the love interest, but interestinggly she really doesn't want to hear about Lenny, doesn't need his help rescuing her or anything, that's also a refreshing take and she's plaued really well by Juliette Lewis.
Story starts on the SQUIDs, interesting concept of virtual reality that can make you relive what somebody else experienced. It is dealt illegally, and though it can be anything, mostly revolves around death and sex. Lenny's main job is selling these. It's never really said why it's illegal and it feels like it could have been developped a bit more. In the end it is just a plot device but it is central to the story and very well used in various circumstances (that's why it would have been nice to know more about it): It is Lenny's job. He's addict to his memories with Faith. The disturbing way it's used in Iris' murder. Also to fry people's brains. And the central plot as Jeriko's murder evidence.
After a beginning tied to Lenny's petty problems, the story gets more cmplex with a friend's murder, dirty cops and a tie-in with the growing societal racial tensions. It's quite ambitious. And again, what's quite refreshing is that Lenny does not become a hero, he's still only interested by one thing, getting Faith back, and she is definitely not interested. The bigger subplot(Jeriko One's death, the implications on society, the cat and mouse game with the dirty cops) is quite good, and the way it ties in with all the rest is very good work.
The rest of the plot, more linked to the relationship between the characters is a little weirder. Good point: Lenny's obsession with Faith, and Mace's fellings for Lenny. Bad point, the final resolution. Max seemed to be a friend of Lenny's. And if him getting with Faith seems totally plausible, that should not directly translate to "let's frame Lenny for murders". And worse, there is nothing that shows that he would be such a psychopath. Killing Iris for money, why not. He's an ex-cop/PI, this world seems dark, there's a lot of violence going on. But to rape her, and film it, and while making her experience the whole thing from his point of view via SQUID, that's extremely disturbing. Same goes for Faith. OK, she really doesn't want to get back with Lenny. But to the point of framing him ? It's definitely not what shows through her actions. And Iris is her friend, she'd have no issue with her new secret boyfriend killing her ? And killing her in this fashion !? If these characters were such psychopaths it should have been shown in the movie, they were totally not played this way. It has the benefit of being surprising enough at the reveal, but if you think about it for 2 minutes it does not make sense.
Still a very good movie that would benefit from being more widely known.
If there's a day to watch this movie, 12/31 is that day.
Fantastic soundtrack. Great cast.
From director Kathryn Bigelow and writer James Cameron comes the cyberpunk thriller Strange Days. Set in the final days of 1999, a data trafficker is given a recording of a murder and must discover who is behind it and why. Starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, and Michael Wincott, the film has an interesting cast that plays some peculiar characters. And, the aesthetic is rather unique with some intriguing future tech. However, the storytelling isn’t that good; as it takes a long time to get going and is fairly convoluted. Additionally, Cameron recycles a lot of dystopian future tropes; such as a military state. Yet despite its problems, Strange Days delivers some exciting action and a compelling mystery.
Visually excellent - reminiscent of Blade Runner - in the future-noir trope.
(I read that 'Strange Days' was the draft name for 'Blade Runner')
It's got a lot of great elements - the POV footage is excellent and the story is compelling.
Angela Bassett's best role outside of (the much superior role of) Tina Turner. Ralph Fiennes puts the work in. Did Bradley Cooper model his look off of this film?
Downsides...
Predictable bad guy. I unfortunately guessed it half way in so no doubt others will.
The ending loses pace about 3/4 in and limps to a soppy conclusion. The film until then is much stronger and deserves a better ending.
In a world of Blade Runner, Total Recall, this, and lastly probably Minority Report... This holds its head up.
7.5/10 but could have been a 9.
This was one of the oddest films that I have seen in a long time. The story is set in an apocalyptic 1999 Los Angeles. Crime and rebellion are everywhere and Virtual Reality is the new drug. People's life experiences are recorded onto video using a technology developed by the government but now available on the black market. You can actually slip on a headset and step into someone else's life for a few minutes (or relive your own). That part of the movie was great and I wish that they had explored it further. There is a lot to ponder when it comes to the dangers of this kind of idea. Better yet, a crime is worked into the equation. The problem is all of the themes that are worked in (or in the case of religion, hinted at frequently) that the story seems to fall apart. At various times the movie is part Matrix, Crash, Escape from New York (particularly the constant crimes being committed just behind the lead characters) and Flatliners. Race is one of the more central themes in the movie and I wish that the director had made it more so. I would have subtracted some of the other themes and spent more time portraying how the races were far apart and why a specific incident in the movie was so important. The final scenes seemed rather... forced, including the silly final conflict.
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Never heard of this movie, recognized Angela and Fiennes, it was at the bottom of the Trakt page as a recommended movie.
Which I thought was strange, plot sounded good, and right up my alley, so I figured why not.
Super enjoyable. I am upset I never heard about it sooner.
I can definitely see other (later) movies borrowing pieces from this. Little dated but Really liked it.
Very glad I watched it. 9/10
STRANGE DAYS IS AN ACTION CRIME DRAMA ROMANCE SCI FI THRILLER FROM KATHRYN BIGELOW THE DIRECTOR OF THE LOVELESS, NEAR DARK, BLUE STEEL, POINT BREAK, WILD PALMS, THE WEIGHT OF WATER, K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER, THE HURT LOCKER, ZERO DARK THIRTY AND DETRIOT AND THE WRITERS OF ALIENS, TITANIC, AVATAR, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, GANGS OF NEW YORK, DE-LOVELY AND SILENCE. STARRING RALPH FIENNES FROM SCHINDLER’S LIST, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, THE CONSTANT GARDENER, CORLONAUS AND THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL,
ANGELA BASSETT FROM DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS RYAN’S HOPE, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, GUIDING LIGHT, BOYZ N THE HOOD, PASSION FISH, INNOCENT BLOOD, MALCOLM X, WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, PANTHER, VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN, WAITING TO EXHALE, CONTACT, BLACK PANTHER AND BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER, JULIETTE LEWIS FROM CAPE FEAR, KALIFORNIA, ROMEO IS BLEEDING, WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN AND AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, LATE TOM SIZEMORE FROM WYATT EARP, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS, HEAT, TRUE ROMANCE, PASSENGER 57, HEARTS AND SOULS, STRIKING DISTANCE, THE RELIC, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, RED PLANET AND BLACK HAWK DOWN, MICHAEL WINCOTT FROM THE DOORS, ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE, ROMEO IS BLEEDING, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE CROW, PANTHER, DEAD MAN, BASQUIAT, METRO, ALIEN RESURRECTION, GUNSHY, HIDDEN AGENDA AND NOPE, VINCENT D’ONOFRIO FROM FULL METAL JACKET, ED WOOD, MEN IN BLACK AND THE CELL, GLENN PLUMMER FROM SPEED, SHOWGIRLS, SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL,
SOUTH CENTRAL, WEDLOCK, TRESPASS, MENACE II SOCIETY, DANGEROUS GAME, THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, UP CLOSE & PERSONAL AND THE SUBSTITUTE, BRIGITTE BAKO FROM ONE GOOD COP, A MAN IN UNIFORM, DOUBLE TAKE AND THE ESCAPE, RICHARD EDSON FROM FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, DO THE RIGHT THING, SUPER MARIO BROS., POSSE, CROSSING THE BRIDGE, JURY DUTY, DESTINY TURNS ON THE RADIO, THE WINNER, THIS WORLD, THEN THE FIREWORKS AND DOUBLE TAP, WILLIAM FICHTNER FROM BLACK HAWK DOWN, CRASH, DRIVE ANGRY, ELYSIUM, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES AND ALBINO ALIGATOR AND JOSEF SUMMER FROM DIRTY HARRY, WITNESS AND X-MEN: THE LAST STAND AND I RENTED ON VIDEO AND DVD.
Under-rated movie that I wish was available to buy on digital. Hard to understand why some critics hated this.
This was quite predictive, lots of its futuristic ideas have been copied by other films and video games. I love the worldbuilding, despite none of it being even remotely accurate about 1999, even down to which music would be popular (G-funk and grunge/alternative rock were already on the way out), but that's all fine of course. I also like to believe that visually this set the stage for movies like Dark City and The Matrix. Now, the editing can be a bit messy, and the acting/dialogue aren't very good. It's one of the few films I can think of where Ralph Fiennes gives a genuinely bad performance, he's woefully miscast here. I'd even go as far as to say that Angela Bassett gives the only good performance in this. The story takes way too long to get going, and the actual plot isn't even set into motion until the second act. What follows is a decent noir that occasionally gets a little too silly given the film’s tone, but simultaneously has more depth than you might expect. The cinematography is pretty good, there are some amazing moments such as the opening shot, which is the kind of PoV shot that would make Gaspar Noé jealous. Overall, I'd say it's just passable, but I feel like it'd be more entertaining with a less patchy script and more set pieces.
5.5/10
A great plot and story! Too bad the implementation was beyond awful!
The acting was at best cheesy and at worst atrocious. Half the time, the actors weren't even trying, it was like watching robots. And the dialog was even worse.
The only reason I got up to 5 stars was due to the plot and story being so great and the action scenes being, for the most part, pretty good.
Great music by Skunk Anansi...
You kill me with your smelly fingers
Your smelly fingers from the sex you had on Christmas Day
And now you say you're feeling guilty
You're feeling guilty 'cause your god was shining on your face
You go to church and light a candle
And then you're blinded by the light from the golden pews
The devil's snapping at your toes now
Because the angels can't be bothered to give to you
They're selling Jesus again
They're selling Jesus again
They want your soul and your money your blood and your votes
They're selling Jesus again
Selling love to you, selling love
You're buying this you're buying that now
You're wishing all the money in the world belonged to you
You're crucified upon you're own cross now
You're givin' money to the white men in the white limo
That kind of god is always man-made
They made him up then wrote a book to keep you on your knees
They get their theories from the same place
Then build a church if there's some money left
From lying on the beach
They're selling Jesus again
They're selling Jesus again
They want your soul and your money your blood and your votes
They're selling Jesus again
Selling love to you, selling love
They're selling Jesus again
They're selling Jesus again
They want your soul and your money your blood and your votes
They're selling Jesus again
Selling love to you, selling love
A CD-i dealer involved in a case of police violence. This movie has remained in my memory. Many other later peliculas (Matrix) have copied ideas of her. The first person plans are just great.
Story didn't really make that much sense from a logical standpoint, but other than that the movie was fine for what it was.
This is one amazing and underrated action/thriller! Actually better then the most made now!
Shout by ladysorkaBlockedParent2014-01-01T04:45:30Z
A fantastic cyberpunk action/thriller with a decent mystery. Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett (particularly Angela Bassett) are amazing in it. Even Juliette Lewis, despite not being the best actress in the world, is perfect for her role.
Also, the best New Year's movie ever, and a fine chaser to Christmas's Die Hard marathon. Make a new tradition today!