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Man I just bought this movie yesterday. I hadn't even seen it before, but after playing too much Specialists I got an itch to see this movie... my local video rental joints were all out so I said screw it, and I went and bought a copy. This movie rocks hard. The action scenes are definately unique and original, and while the basis of the plot is indeed borrowed, the execution imo is fantastic
*** Warning: Spoilers ahead! ***
I dont see what people had against the plot... it was excellent! Christian Bale got stuck in a lot of iffy situations, like finding the puppy (that was such a sad scene, poor dogs  ) or trying to help the resistance members escape, only to be told to execute them later. What really put a smile on my face is how it doesnt really follow any cliche of futuristic movies. Unlike movies like Minority Report (which was good, but more science fantasy), theres no flying (or vertical) cars, no holographic computers, none of that fancy stuff that probably wont exist in the not so far off future. It had a lot of good twists that you didnt expect, like how Bale traps his partner by switching the gun framing him, and you think hes got him owned. Then you find out they were playing Bale all along to get to the underground. And a lot of people probably expected Bale and Emily Watson to have some romance thing, with him eventually saving her from being executed and they live happily ever after, etc etc, but Bale tries to stop it and cant. The whole "who is Father" thing I did see coming from a long way off though, but it was still cool enough. And I like how everything is leading for Bale and Taye Diggs to have some climatic final confrontation, but Bale just completely owns him in like 3 moves. It was also quite refreshing to see fantastic action scenes that didnt rip off the matrix in every way possible. I loved the Gun Kata idea because its not something beyond the realm of physical possibility, unlike most everything in the Matrix, which was still cool tho (but man, would it require some insane skill, but I guess thats why they train to be clerics all their lives).
end spoilers
All in all this is now one of my favorite movies of all time... the action was killer and original, the plot was clever and moved at a good pace, and the acting was great all around (Taye Diggs was better as the partner than Sean Bean imo, who is too melodramatic to play the crafty partner trying to get ahead in his career).
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NEW MIX [Feb/March 2008]
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