Thriller Hindered By Lack of Originality

by Jason R. Hewlett

Okay, the last of the computer generated reality movies has arrived on the screen...at least the last one for now. I'm thinking, with the onset of the Internet and virtual reality we'll see a lot more of them. It's a whole sci-fi subculture in the making. Makes sense too, playing with the theme of what is real as computers overtake our lives more and more. Good material for storytellers.

The first film was "The Matrix" and we all know how good that was. The second was "Existenz" and please, don't get me started. Now we have "The Thirteenth Floor," which is a pretty clever little murder mystery at heart that just happens to be set against an alternate reality background. It's low on technology (no superhuman folks leaping about) but has a script cleverer than the usual Roland Emmerich fare (he executive produced) but suffers from The Hollywood Curse of Three. Been there, done that, seen it done cooler.

The film deals with a company that has created a simulated world via the computer. In this case the simulated world is 1937 Los Angeles which has been beautifully recreated by director Josef Rusnak (who also co-wrote along with Ravel Centeno-Rodriquez) and his production team. The program's creator, played by the great Armin Mueller-Stahl, is murdered and the culprit looks to be Mueller-Stahl's partner, played by Craig Bierko. Bierko must unravel the truth behind the murder and in return begins to question the reality of the so called "real world."

The film is well written and well made with solid performances, particularly Dennis Haysbert as a homicide cop and Vincent D'Onfrio as both a computer programmer and a 1937 bar tender.

The problem lies in the fact that there's just nothing overly exciting here or cool to look at (aside from leading lady Gretchen Mol). Mind you, it's no where near as bad as the plodding "Existenz" but, particularly against "The Matrix" or even "Star Wars," there's nothing really there to grab you either. When it comes to sci-fi you sometimes need more than just a good script and good actors...particularley if you want to be a big summer release.

Still, it's not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination. However, if you want to see big, cool, mind blowing things: go see "Phantom Menace" for a fourth time. If you want something a little less so: catch "13th. Floor"...but you can wait for video.

6.5 out of 10!