Impostor

The previously posted comment for this film would have successfully steered me away from it... If I weren't such a huge fan of "Criminal Intent" (Vincent D'Onofrio) and "Monk" (Tony Shalhoub) that I had to see it anyway. I wondered throughout the movie, "Is this guy (Gary Sinise) a robot or NOT???" The sets and direction (not to mention the performances of Gary Sinise and Vincent D'Onofrio, which were intense) sucked me in. D'Onofrio makes a fabulous driven investigator. Shalhoub's role was small, but I was too busy grooving on the plot to care. My one regret in the performances is that Madeline Stowe didn't have much to do, except alternate between the roles of a stereotypical uber-doctor and a limpid, grieving wife. The one scene that hints at her acting talent occurs when she confronts her husband at the abandoned park. Granted, the film does start out like it's going to be typical sci-fi schlock, but once it was past the first 15 minutes, I almost forgot it's science fiction. The bottom line: This movie WORKED for me! 9 / 10 stars

I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this movie. I had seen the preview last summer in the theater and it looked really good and when it finally came out I was going to see it but it was only in the theaters for a very short time. Normally that means it was really bad so I wasn't expecting too much when I rented it. It turned out to be quite the opposite. It was great!!!!!! The story had a lag in the middle but for the most part it was pretty fast paced and surprising. The end was really good as well. I wasn't expecting it to end that way. As in most futuristic movies it's pretty grim on Earth (wonder why it's always depicted that way??).

Things that may be in the future are what science fiction is all about. And this at last is real science fiction again. Some elements are indeed stolen from other movies, but in the end it's what you wish for: the unexpected.

I really had very little interest in this film when it came out for its theatrical release, and it was only by accident I happened to catch it on cable recently. And I have to say I have been missing out. No, its not the single best piece of sci-fi I have ever seen, and there are definitely slow moments and occasional logical inconsistencies. But like most good sci-fi it is a movie that is not about gadgets or special effects, but rather about people -- about what it is to be human. On that level, this movie has something to say, and in saying it sets up a powerful and unexpected conclusion that elevates the movie immensely. I don't know how I would have felt about this one if I had paid $9 to see it in a theater, but if you're a fan of sci-fi movies that make you think as opposed to simply go "ooohh" at the pretty effects, this would be well worth the price of a rental or to catch on cable sometime.

Certainly, IMPOSTOR might not rank in the ten greatest science fiction epics of all time, but I just want to make clarifications. First of all, several commentors have said that this movie borrows heavily from BLADE RUNNER and TOTAL RECALL. Some are aware of this, but many of the reviewers seem to be ignorant of the fact that all works were written by the same author. Second, many of the best movies--especially science fiction movies--were despised and lambasted in their own times. Sometimes this is because the plots are too cerebral, but sometimes it's because the style of the film is not what is popular at the time. I say this not to chastise those who say they do not like this film. I say this only to reprimand those who feel they have the moral obligation and divine right to call this the worst film ever made. A request for all reviewers: tell me your opinions, but do not tell me what mine should be. Dah svidanya.

The beginning of IMPOSTOR I must admit I liked. But as soon as the whole interogation room thing started, the movie just got bad. It's filmed with many of the same angle , film shots and darkness about it of which Battlefield Earth was filmed with, but thank goodness it's not that bad. Gary Sinise doesn't deliver much of a performance. I think in this film the good-bad guy played by Vincent D' Onfrio was the best character, and best acted character. IMPOSTOR is not worth seeing unless it's on tv. Even then you may decline it. Too bad someone messed up Phillip K. Dick's book. Fortunately, he's got some great story adaptions too (TOTAL RECALL, BLADERUNNER, MINORITY REPORT), so at least there're more good adaptions than bad. Overall, don't see IMPOSTOR unless you really liked Battlefield Earth. I think with this in mind, no one's going to see this movie. 1.5/5 stars

IMPOSTOR (2002) * Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub, Mekhi Phifer, Tim Guinee, Elizabeth Pena, Lindsay Crouse. Lackluster sci-fi flick ala "The Fugitive" with Sinise as a well-respected military research scientist targeted as an infiltrating robotic time bomb persued by D'Onofrio and out to clear his good name. Dreadfully boring and irritating camerawork doesn't wake one up from very predictable adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1953 story. Forgettable.

I'm a bit of a Philip Dick fan but put off seeing this after the Spielberg-mangled Minority Report. Impostor moves along at a nice pace without deviating too much from the short story on which it's based. The visual effects are excellent without being overdone, and the ending just about makes Impostor a sci-fi classic. I assume the only reason this film didn't do better at the box office was due to marketing budget as there's nothing b-grade in sight, and it's been hollywoodized far better than some of PKD's other stories, cough-Paycheck-cough. Perhaps the only downside is the cast, although solid, make it look a bit like a CSI reunion. A must-see movie if you're remotely into sci-fi.