There's no reason to see this-- decent star vehicle for its time, but not much else.
Added 9/14/2009
This movie really doesn't stand up to the test of time. I'm sure it was a decent star vehicle for Mel Gibson, who turns in one of his usual stunt performaces as an insane conspiracy nut stalking Julia Roberts, who is competent and tender in her role as an attorney haunted by her father's death. But beyond the presence of those two actors, the premise, plot, and themes of this movie don't make much sense or hold much interest 12 years after its release.
The story is really the problem here-- the film leaves the connection between the two lead characters unexplained until the final scenes, and when it is finally revealed, it all seems unbelievable and conveniently contrived. The hokey plot about unknown and shadowy covert agencies is not credible in the least. And the themes are problematic as well--there's: "Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching you!" and then the even worse: "Just because your an insane stalker doesn't mean she won't fall in love with you!". Both are way to stupid to hang such a long movie on, and aren't rendered in a believable way.
(By the by, just how many movies does Mel get tortured and beaten to death in? It seems like quite the running theme---Mel, tortured, beaten, shot, stabbed, and run ragged, finds dying solace in the arms of a saintly female who weeps over his mangled body...???)
Anyhow, unless you are just a huge fan of either of the two lead actors, I wouldn't bother with this movie. It isn't horrible, it's just not very good.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Good, smart and funny movie!
Added 5/3/2009
Stunning performance by Mel Gibson, he is very believable as a pranoid conspiracy buff. So is Julia Roberts she holds herself very nicely in this film. The film is fast paced and rather interesting. I recommend this to anyone.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Conspiracy Theory
Added 3/3/2009
Excellent cast that carrys you with them. The movie has some twists that keep you guessing. Well performed. Enjoy!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Excellent protrayal of a MKULTRA victim
Added 2/11/2009
This is the best movie I have ever seen portraying MKULTRA brainwashing atrocities committed by our government. I was awed and amazed at Mil Gibson's ability to accurately portray a target of the CIA's horrible brainwashing experiments intended to create the perfect spy -- an assassin who didn't know he was an assassin. I was also impressed Julia Roberts and the rest of the cast not to mention the excellent camera work and the overall production quality of the movie. With new evidence surfacing continually showing that MKULTRA did not stop with the 1975 Congressional Church committees investigation I was surprised to see this information divulged in this movie. The producer and diretor did not miss any detail in depicting the life of a targetted whistleblower.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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A Politically-Paranoid `Monk?'
Added 2/5/2009
Now that the TV series "Monk" has become so popular, maybe a few more people will check this film out. Mel Gibson's character isn't exactly like Monk - more like a super hyperactive and politically paranoid "Monk." He fits right in with Oliver Stone and the rest of the "conspiracy" freaks. Stone, in fact, would like this film since it gives credence to these paranoid fantasies and gives several cheap shots to conservatives along the way.
Political propaganda-aside, this is a fun movie to watch and the most fun might be Gibson's house, which is too incredible to describe here. Mel is fascinating to watch and really makes this movie what it is with his outrageous character "Jerry Fletcher."
Julia Roberts gives a solid performance while looking about as good as she ever looked. Patrick Stewart is very effective as the bad guy. He reminded me of Laurence Olivier's Nazi villain in "Marathon Man."
An involving story that holds your attention for the full 2-plus hours and looks nice on DVD. I'll bet this would look great on Blu-Ray.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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There's no reason to see this-- decent star vehicle for its time, but not much else.
Added 9/14/2009
This movie really doesn't stand up to the test of time. I'm sure it was a decent star vehicle for Mel Gibson, who turns in one of his usual stunt performaces as an insane conspiracy nut stalking Julia Roberts, who is competent and tender in her role as an attorney haunted by her father's death. But beyond the presence of those two actors, the premise, plot, and themes of this movie don't make much sense or hold much interest 12 years after its release.
The story is really the problem here-- the film leaves the connection between the two lead characters unexplained until the final scenes, and when it is finally revealed, it all seems unbelievable and conveniently contrived. The hokey plot about unknown and shadowy covert agencies is not credible in the least. And the themes are problematic as well--there's: "Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching you!" and then the even worse: "Just because your an insane stalker doesn't mean she won't fall in love with you!". Both are way to stupid to hang such a long movie on, and aren't rendered in a believable way.
(By the by, just how many movies does Mel get tortured and beaten to death in? It seems like quite the running theme---Mel, tortured, beaten, shot, stabbed, and run ragged, finds dying solace in the arms of a saintly female who weeps over his mangled body...???)
Anyhow, unless you are just a huge fan of either of the two lead actors, I wouldn't bother with this movie. It isn't horrible, it's just not very good.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Good, smart and funny movie!
Added 5/3/2009
Stunning performance by Mel Gibson, he is very believable as a pranoid conspiracy buff. So is Julia Roberts she holds herself very nicely in this film. The film is fast paced and rather interesting. I recommend this to anyone.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Conspiracy Theory
Added 3/3/2009
Excellent cast that carrys you with them. The movie has some twists that keep you guessing. Well performed. Enjoy!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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