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eXistenZ

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eXistenZ (1999)

April. 19,1999
|
6.8
|
R
| Action Thriller Science Fiction
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A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

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Linkshoch
1999/04/19

Wonderful Movie

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UnowPriceless
1999/04/20

hyped garbage

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Kaydan Christian
1999/04/21

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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Allison Davies
1999/04/22

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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Irishchatter
1999/04/23

I thought Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law were good as a team but what was really lacking here was the storyline, including the cliffhanger at the end! There were some scenes that were dragging on for me to really understand clearly whats going on with each characters. I would prefer if they made the story more upbeat, more action and more understanding. It was like there were a lot of question marks while watching this film and they were a headache. I am a big fan of video game movies but I don't think this movie is one of the best they have ever made in Hollywood. If it was inspired by an action game like Doom, or Duke Nukem, it would've earned a better rating. I would recommend people who are also video game fans to watch this but, be prepared to get confused at some scenes, thats all i can say to ya!

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Mr_Ectoplasma
1999/04/24

Set in a presumed near future, "eXistenZ" follows Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a game designer who has invented a revolutionary virtual reality game in which subjects are plugged into an alternate reality via ports inserted in their spinal columns. After an assassination attempt is made on her during a volunteer participant game launch, she and Ted Pikul (Jude Law), a meek PR agent who has been assigned as her body guard, find themselves on the run in the countryside, where reality and the virtual world of eXistenZ coalesce as they plug themselves in in order to salvage the game.It had been years since I'd originally seen this film, and I recently re-watched it as an adult with some extra years in me, and the film was in some ways stranger (and in others more logical) than I had remembered it. "eXistenZ" is a magnificently surreal exploration of virtual reality with notes of Cronenberg's signature body horror and all the makings of a trippy sci-fi exploitation flick.Fans of science fiction, head trip horror, and Cronenbergian splatter will find plenty of enjoyment to be had here. The film's ominous opening frames the surrealistic, ambiguous shifts in and out of reality that make up the last two third of the movie. I feel that some of the disappointment audiences had with the film (both upon its original release and over the ensuing years) has been due to mismatched expectations; for as much of a sci-fi thriller as this is, it's also extremely talky and dialogue-driven. This gives room for some very interesting and nuanced performances, specifically from Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose acting is calculated and simultaneously free-flowing. In retrospect, Jude Law seems miscast here to me to some degree, although he does succeed in drawing out the beta-male elements of his character that evolve into moments of legitimate confrontation as the film progresses.The special effects here are not over the top, and actually are rather minimal; most of the fantastical whimsy of the film comes from its labyrinthine distortions of events, virtual gameplay, and performativity of the self in both tangible reality and the matrix that is eXistenZ. The finale of the film is understated and shockingly macabre, and, though not as inventive as you may expect, is cleverly constructed and in many ways remarkably dour and nihilistic.Overall, my revisiting of this film was quite an experience; for first-time viewers, it is likely to be even more so. Jennifer Jason Leigh's nuanced performance is reason enough to give the film a viewing, but there is plenty more in way of thematic material, surrealism and hyper-realism, and maddening existential questions that Cronenberg frames through a matrix of science fiction and utter weirdness. The film has held up surprisingly well over the years, and is as engrossing today as it was nearly twenty years ago. 8/10.

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charliesonnyray
1999/04/25

I am not a big fan of Cronenberg. I despise it when a director does the same style or theme a thousand times and no one is more guilty of it than he(except for maybe Tim Burton). It gets repetitive though I understand why some might like his type of work. I watched another film of his-Video Drome-and hated it. I thought it was like someone trying to throw every type of food they liked into a blender put forgot to put the top on-a complete mess in other words. EXistenZ though takes all those foods and manages to create an exquisite- though somewhat disgusting-cuisine. The story is about a game designer in a future where game systems are biologically engineered. A bounty is put out on her head and now she must team up with a PR guy to stay alive. But it gets a thousand times more complicated from there. The movies goes through so many twists and turns that it actually almost became disorienting. Yet it stays fixed on the same idea: is this reality? Video Drome had a similar set up but an awful pay off unlike what he did with this picture. My only complain is just how graphic and foul mouthed he got. Are ten f-bombs seriously needed for this picture? Still the atmosphere and story are actually strong enough to make me want to watch it again sometime.

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SnoopyStyle
1999/04/26

Antenna Research is testing a new game system eXistenZ created by great game designer Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh). An assassin shoots her with an undetectable organic gun. She is injured and marketing trainee Ted Pikul (Jude Law) takes her away from the danger. Her pod contains the only copy of eXistenZ and she has to test it. Ted is forced to get a bio-port installed by underground installer Gas (Willem Dafoe). However he turns out to be out for the contract on her life. It's a long road where reality is questionable and the world is full of danger.It's a lot of ooey gooey organic effects and perverse sexuality. I'm not sure if Cronenberg is actually making a point but it seems to be warning a merging and confusion between reality and game. It's a lot of weird stuff going on. It's not scary or even disgusting. It's just oddly fascinating.

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