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Overall Rating
4.09

Awesome45.95%
Worth A Look: 33.78%
Average: 12.16%
Pretty Bad: 0%
Total Crap: 8.11%

3 reviews, 56 user ratings


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Gattaca
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by Filmink Magazine (owes us money)

"Lacks heart...a poor substitute for Blade Runner."
3 stars

Set in the not-too-distant-future, Gattaca tells the story of Vincent, a young man relegated to outcast status in a society that genetically engineers its population in order to achieve maximum results. Unfortunately for Vincent, he wasn't conceived as such. Instead, he came to be in the old-fashioned way.

For the Gattacans, anyone born in this fashion is a faith child, someone at the throw of life's fickle dice. In contrast, those who are genetically engineered are virtually guaranteed more beautiful bodies, sharper eyesight, superior intelligence, longer life spans and a job. In this world Vincent is an In-Valid.

Vincent, however, desperately wants to prove that his destiny lies on one of Saturn's moons. This single-minded ambition leads him to the DNA black market, where he buys himself a very different identity.

There's a catch, though. Everything and everyone at Gattaca is screened via blood samples, urine and even skin, from which a DNA Id can be verified. Vincent must therefore continually acquire these from the person whose identity he has taken on. Thus Jerome, genetically engineered to be the best but now in a wheelchair, moves into his apartment providing, for a handsome cash sum, body fluids in abundance. Somehow (of course) Vincent manages to become Gattaca's top navigator but a gruesome murder places him in jeopardy, particularly when one of his eyelashes is found near the scene prompting authorities to suspect an In-Valid of the crime.

A strong premise indeed, but Gattaca manages to blast-off not with a bang, but with a whimper. Despite it's stunning production design, the movie lacks heart and what could have been an intelligent exploration into a complex issue is transformed into a poor substitute for Blade Runner.

Uma as the love interest adds nothing to this film, nor does Gore Vidal as Gattaca's director.

Gattaca should have taken some of its own medicine - a little genetic engineering with the script could have gone a long way. ---Paul Garcia

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link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=472&reviewer=14
originally posted: 09/14/98 01:15:47
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 Brisbane Film Festival. For more in the 2005 Brisbane Film Festival series, click here.

User Comments

2/10/09 natalie jones fab its got so much detail but its way to complicated fot a 13 yr old to watch lol 5 stars
5/24/07 Lauren Was forced to watch it for school- dullest movie invented 1 stars
11/17/06 J.Pet One of the most over looked films in decades. A classic! 5 stars
7/31/06 Marty I can't remember ever being more bored. The flaws kept me awake. 1 stars
5/07/06 PDF Best movie ever 5 stars
4/11/06 Indrid Cold Despite flirting with some big issues, it's really just a repetitive murder mystery. 3 stars
11/02/05 che (cube) nice movie but not so good actors 4 stars
8/30/05 tatum Interesting, but too reserved and cold 4 stars
8/23/05 ES First rate, inspirational and disheartening all at once, great cast 4 stars
6/28/05 Ionicera visually nice but the ideas aren't explored and plot is pretty thin 3 stars
3/18/05 Tom Perhaps the purest SciFi film ever made. Characters are driven by the SciFi Premise. 5 stars
1/26/05 prue great movie 4 stars
12/24/04 salam it has a usefull goal concerning discrimination 4 stars
12/20/04 Mike Makes me cry every time and I'm not a weeper. What a great, thoughtful scifi film. 5 stars
10/23/04 ODH A sci-fi flick that actually gets you to think? Great movie 5 stars
6/14/04 PR Best Movie ever- Even better than Blade Runner 5 stars
5/05/04 JR Francisco Lombo: I can't believe you think that. Best Sci-fi movie by a mile! 5 stars
11/19/03 s'tude one of my faves. Visually and aurally beautiful, with intellectual meat to chew on too. 5 stars
10/29/03 Nicole Great Sci/Fi 4 stars
10/07/03 matt The best kind of SF film as it deals with ideas. Genuinely quite affecting I think. 5 stars
10/02/03 Jinnvisible Unusuall mix,,, social caste system,science fiction,romance,thriller, ----------works well. 4 stars
9/25/03 Gray important film 5 stars
9/22/03 Darryl One of the 90's best. Hawke and Law are both excellent. Thought-provoking story. 5 stars
9/20/03 R. R. Great movie, if you believe it suck then you're obviously not intellectual. 5 stars
8/10/03 Jean I loved it. One of my favorite movies. Especially loved interaction between Hawke and Law. 5 stars
6/19/03 Francisco Lombo VERY BAD MOVIE, the story MIGHT have something originally, but it is really badly narrated 1 stars
6/15/03 E I normally don't like movies like this, but hey, this one was pretty damn good. 4 stars
3/28/03 Atanu The movie was great, wish it wasn't uma thurman though. 5 stars
3/26/03 Jack Sommersby One of 1997's 10-best films. 4 stars
2/08/03 natasha_theobald riveting performances and taut drama with a fascinating sci-fi storyline 4 stars
1/14/03 TheBomb69 enjoyed it, quit comparing to other Sci-Fi flicks 4 stars
2/25/02 Becca Loved it !!! 4 stars
10/31/01 Patch Must See 5 stars
10/22/01 P.Rodriguez Had To Give A higher Mark. The Director of Photography who worked in this movie rocks! 5 stars
4/02/01 Indira Garcia I think this movie was worth a look 4 stars
4/01/01 Jesse L please don't make me watch it ever again... 1 stars
3/08/01 Sanja great imagination 5 stars
2/06/01 mister char utter crap 1 stars
10/24/00 Viking Brilliant. Sci-fi doesn't need state of the art special effects to convey it's message 5 stars
7/08/00 gromm The story has a really great idea, but doesn't _quite_ follow through, unfortunately. 4 stars
5/18/00 clear and crisp agree.. this is a rare movie about both hope and despair. looks gorgeous too. 5 stars
5/08/00 seldom scene interesting subject matter, ending suffers 4 stars
5/03/00 P.Rodriguez I forward Rue the Whirls opinion kick TMC out- This IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5 stars
4/28/00 Rue the Whirl Please stop letting ignorant "teen movie critics" give reviews. Please? 5 stars
4/19/00 malcolm scifi, crime suspense, romance. well paced. thurman never has turned me on. 5 stars
2/24/00 Jeebo1 this is seriously shit 1 stars
1/17/00 cosmo terrific, intelligent, provocative, beautiful, well acted 5 stars
1/09/00 unstrung a stroy about hope--something i dearly miss 5 stars
10/17/99 Shelagh I thought it was special. It really made me think. It was careful and calm. 5 stars
8/18/99 Japtalian Intelligent scifi. Very subtle, entertaining film. 4 stars
6/15/99 Dylan Very under-rated. Gattaca is intelligent and (mostly) unpretentious. A must see. 4 stars
4/15/99 Jon Jackson Surprise, it doesn't suck! 4 stars
1/03/99 Dasha Cold and distant, but I loved it. Must Uma Thurman be so damn beautiful? 5 stars
1/01/99 jvt Some silly moments but mostly worthwhile 3 stars
12/06/98 d`d` Good science fiction is linked to science fact, it's conceptually as scary as Truman Show 5 stars
8/25/98 Pete Enjoyed it more than I thought. I normally dispise Ethan Hawke, but he wasn't bad. 4 stars
IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!
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USA
  24-Oct-1997 (PG-13)

UK
  N/A

Australia
  N/A


Directed by
  Andrew Nicol

Written by
  Andrew Nicol

Cast
  Ethan Hawke
  Uma Thurman
  Gore Vidal
  Xander Berkeley
  Jayne Brook
  Elias Koteas


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