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movie review - Imposter

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

First off, I have to say that I saw this one with my brother and his wife. I'm not sure what the missus thought, but my brother hated it. I didn't; I thought it was richly cliched, but worth watching.

This is a Sci-Fi piece based on one of Philip K. Dick's many nasty short stories. It's about a scientist working for the gov't during a time when humanity is fighting a losing battle against an extraterrestial race.

Since it's a work originally by PKD, you just know there's going to be plenty of identity confusion, betrayal, sinister machinations by the powers-that-be, and violence.

The scientist (Gary Sinise) is pitted against a gov't investigator (Vincent D'onofrio), who is convinced that the former has been replaced by a special type of alien replicant that contains a powerful bomb. The investigator captures the scientist and prepares to extract the undetectable bomb from the scientist's chest. Before it can happen, the scientists - bent on clearing his name and reuniting with his wife - escapes into the air ducts, and the fun begins.

The flick has a bit of an '80s feel, and is reminiscent of Total Recall in overall tone and look (though nowhere near as violent as the Schwarzenegger flick). Many of the tricks in the film have been done before, as has its vision of the future. That said, the story gains points for the originality of the characters (there are a number of people in the film who don't know who they are).

Recommended.