Virtuosity

Summary

I recently have been nostalgically focusing my attention on science fiction and action films that were made in my adolescence. Most of the time, these are films that I wanted to see but was not allowed to see by my parents due to their violent content. For some reason this always makes me feel victorious that I am now allowed to watch whatever awful film my ten-year-old self wanted to see so badly in 1995. Until the release of The Lawnmower Man by Shout!Factory in 2017, I had completely forgotten about the 1995 science fiction film Virtuosity. It’s worth mentioning that when I was growing up I was obsessed with technology. I literally would purchase consumer report catalogs that would detail the new specs on computers. I got into computer gaming around the time that people began playing Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. Therefore, when my ten year old self saw a preview for a futuristic film with an evil Artificial Intelligence on the loose, I was sold. I was not allowed to see it because it was rated R, so it was not until 2017 when I was thirty one years old that I finally got to watch the idiotic brilliance that is the 1995 science fiction gem Virtuosity.

Virtuosity stars Denzel Washington as former police lieutenant Parker Barnes. Parker is a convicted murderer because he made a lethal mistake while trying to dispatch a terrorist who murdered his wife and child. The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre has instituted a program that allows convicts to virtually battle their newest artificial intelligence SID 6.7 (Russell Crowe) -Sadistic, Intelligent, Dangerous- to later help train police officers in the field. SID 6.7 is a synthesis of more than 150 serial killers including the killer that killed Parker’s family. When his creator Daryl Lindenmeyer (Stephen Spinella) uses nano technology to bring SID 6.7 into the real world, SID begins to wreak havoc and seek media attention while taunting Parker. SID has a unique advantage over human beings in that he can regenerate by absorbing glass into his system. Parker is aided by Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch) who worked on the program and believes that Parker is the only person who can stop SID 6.7. Madison convinces the authorities to release Parker to track down SID 6.7. This leads to a violent cat and mouse game around Los Angeles.

I should start off by mentioning that this is not a “good” movie. It throws rhyme and reason aside and is as ham-fisted a film as you are likely to see. Now that I have gotten that preamble out of the way, I really had a blast watching this film. I found myself giggling at the goofy “cutting edge” special effects that had attracted me to the film when I was a kid. I laughed every time there was this weird hint of Peter Gabriel music in the film (this was probably due to the fact that the director had directed some Peter Gabriel music videos.) I was excited to hear William Orbit, Lords of Acid, and various other early techno music people that I had completely forgotten about due to twenty two years of time passing. I honestly loved the way the movie looked and felt. There is a particularly goofy feeling to the cyber cinema of the early nineties that I find appealing. This was the age of America Online and the whole film reminded me of back when I would fire up my modem and wait to hear the phone line connect. 

There are some things worth noting aside from the nostalgia factor.  The cinematography by Gale Tattersall is very capable and reminiscent of how James Cameron’s films looked at that time. The other good news is that the actors dig into their roles as if this is going to be their last performance on Earth. Denzel is Denzel, so he nails it. Russell Crowe plays the role with the type of joy that can only be brought about when you realize how inherently silly this whole thing is. His performance is insane and wonderful. Watching him walk into one scene wearing a purple suit to the sounds of the Beegees? Priceless. Kelly Lynch and a steady cast of character actors including William Fichtner and William Forsyth play a series of one dimensional side characters that serve their purpose well.

My recommendation would be to rent Virtuosity before considering a purchase if you have never seen it. I got a tremendous kick out of it, but I am predisposed and preprogrammed towards enjoying films like this.

Video

Welcome to the not so distant future of 1995 Los Angeles! Paramount did a great job on the transfer of the film using an MPEG-4 AVC codec of a new 2K restoration. This 2.35:1 image is very impressive – filling the screen with futuristic imagery. Keep in mind that this was a thirty million dollar film in 1995, so there is a lot being offered on the screen. Most impressive visually is the final battle that puts the characters on top of the Los Angeles skyline as helicopters circle the building. Gale Tattersall’s cinematography had that same feeling as James Cameron’s films from this era – grays and blues are used extensively. This movie may not be for everyone but I could not find any fault in this fantastic transfer. Detail is superb. Clarity is spot on. Keep in mind that the visual effects that were so mind blowing then have not aged well, but that is part of the charm of the film.

Audio

Similar to the video, Paramount have provided an incredibly immersive and well mastered DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track. This track is very impressive – roaring into life with all the techno music of 1995 and all the guns blasting of SID 6.7. This is an incredibly active track throughout the film and especially once it kicks into the latter part of the film that uses the LFE extensively. I was in my home theatre room and had to keep it turned down a little bit to keep the kids asleep. I was impressed.

Supplements:

None

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 0/5

Overall – 4/5

Virtuosity is obviously not Shakespeare. It’s a movie where a cop is essentially tracking down an evil video game character that has burst into the real world. I happen to have a soft spot for Nineties science fiction from my heyday so I found myself enjoying it way more than I should probably admit. Fans will be pleased to see that this film has been given an absolutely beautiful transfer from Paramount and Warner Bros. That said, the lack of special features is a real missed opportunity. Take a look at the special features dished out from Shout! Factory on their Lawnmower Man reissue and you will see the amount of fun that could have been had with this one. I would have loved an audio commentary. As it stands, for some this will be a rental. For myself, I am glad to have it in my collection. Fans of the Cyber Cinema of the Nineties would be missing out on a unique thrill if they pass up the chance to watch Russell Crowe as SID 6.7.

Portions of this review originally appeared on Blu-ray Authority.