Cypher

source: Cypher

Minimalistic, stylish and atmospheric! From the opening titles to the end a fascinating story and design... with some links to Cube in some places ;-) I wish Natali could have cut the explaining dialogues in the end of the movie... well... just an "almost" perfect movie ;-) Clever and entertaining and so beautiful to watch... :-)

Dated SFX, silly plot, not smart, not clever, severely overrated. Do not watch! I'm severely unimpressed by this sub par effort. None of the people involved in this movie have amounted to anything anyway.

When I saw this it was called CYPHER. I'm not going to give away anything of the plot, because it's much better if you watch it without knowing anything about it. All I'm going to tell you is that it's a very tense sci-fi/thriller that keeps you guessing to the very end. It's really very original and exciting. Jeremy Northham is great in the leading role, Lucy Lui is good as usual, as is the rest of cast (especially David Hewlitt in a small but creepy role). This is Natali's second feature film, after CUBE, and it's great too see what he's capable of with a larger budget. I expect great things to come. I have no idea when it's going to be released, but see it when it does come out.

As films about memory and identity go, this low-budget feature is vastly superior to big Hollywood productions like Paycheck. Jeremy Northam is outstanding in his role, and would make a great thinking man's James Bond (though sadly this will probably not happen, due to the pressures to appoint a very big-name actor). I can't remember many films which are so engrossing and atmospheric. It's also interesting to see a film in which there are no traditionally good guys, and despite the apparently optimistic conclusion, the victor is as amoral as his opponents, even though we are rooting for him. I have no problem with the transition towards a more conventional Mission Impossible/ James Bond type ending during the film, it's handled elegantly enough not to jar. And I want one of those helicopters! Having watched it a number of times, it's now on my list of favourite films.

I ran across this on cable, and only watched it because I had NEVER seen Jeremy Northam in ANYTHING modern. This was really a stylish little thriller along the lines of - I dunno - Matrix (not much) + Italian Job (cross/double cross)+ 1984 (dystopia for everyone). Northam is excellent, as he always is. He himself is the cypher of the title, I think, and as he peels away the multiple layers of his identity, you can see the panic under the desperately cool exterior he tries to maintain. The end came as a complete surprise to me, but maybe I'm easily fooled. It's hard to get some of Lucy Liu's (ahem) LESSER roles out of your mind when you see her in this, but she acquits herself well enough. Well-written, and well-executed - I recommend this with great enthusiasm.

If you want to see an intelligent, stylish espionage film (with a touch of SF), this is a must-have DVD. Utterly engrossing, and with superb visuals and performances (especially from Jeremy Northam), it's worth watching several times (and I have!)- on each viewing, more little hints and details become apparent. Some people are not keen on the ending, but I had no problem with it myself- it ties up everything perfectly well (which works in this film, just as the lack of explanation in Natali's Cube worked perfectly for that film given it's themes). While some scenes and plot devices will be reminiscent of other films, this never detracts from enjoyment of this film. Michael Andrews' score also deserves a mention, perfectly matching the moods of the story and visuals.

It is a 7.5ish/10 territory movie if you delete the final 15 minutes of this and replace it (with brains this time). Awful final scene complete with cheesy pop music leaves a bad aftertaste as well. The highlight is a maze like plot with enough surprises to keep you interested. 6.8/10 serves it right in the end.

Cypher is a movie well worth seeing because it's not the run-of-the-mill Sci-Fi flick. The artistic approach is painted with dark scenes and a kind of macro view of what's going on. The close-up camera view is how the director keeps the plot illusive. The sci-fi aspect of the movie is secondary to the plot of the movie. The technology used in the movie isn't overly impressive, however, the director makes good use of the props. The character development is intentionally shallow. The main character, Jeremy Northam, decides to immerse himself into the world of espionage. It's up to the audience to figure out his enigmatic character and it's the enigma that keeps the audience interested right to the very end.

I saw Cypher at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. It stars Jeremy Northam as a regular guy who is bored with his ordinary life and is not-so-reluctantly whisked into the world of corporate espionage. Along the way he meets Rita, played by Lucy Liu, who may or may not be an ally. The performances are well done and the story is interesting, but the final few scenes are hurried and flawed leading up to an improbable ending. Cypher is worth seeing but that ending will probably make you cringe.