Cypher | Jeremy Northam, Lucy Liu | One of the best movies you never heard of...

Cypher | Jeremy Northam, Lucy Liu | What's Jack Thursby like?

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Cypher

	Cypher Jeremy Northam, Lucy Liu Miramax, 2005 average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A pulse-pounding cyber thriller starring Jeremy Northam (GOSFORD PARK, EMMA) and Lucy Liu (KILL BILL VOLUME 1, CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE), CYPHER is sure to entertain you! When computer expert Morgan Sullivan (Northam) joins a huge multinational company, he assumes a new identity and is sent undercover to investigate corporate espionage. Before long, he finds himself caught up in a vicious cycle of paranoia and mistrust. Then along comes Rita (Liu), a sexy and smart secret agent who informs Sullivan that he's being brainwashed and that she is the only one who can help him! Loaded with riveting twists and amazing special effects ... you're sure to applaud this fast-paced thriller!

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One of the best movies you never heard of...

This is a great movie. Drama & science fiction in one movie. Must admit that I love Lucy Liu, but this is at least a must rent for anyone who likes movies with twists...

What's Jack Thursby like?

That was the question soon-to-be ex-Morgan Sullivan (Jeremy Northam) asked his new employer Digicorp as they assigned him his cover as Jack Thursby. Digicorp told him he could put his own spin on the character--and so he did, adding cigarettes, golf, and single malt Scotch on the rocks to his habits.

What was Thursby to do? Thursby's assignment was to spy on Digicorp's rival, Sunways. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell his wife about what he was doing or his job.

On his first assignment, he encounters a very attractive young woman Rita (Liu) who introduces him to counter-intelligence. Digicorp is going to brainwash him into permanently believing he's Thursby. Rita can help him, but he's got to trust her.

Soon, he's swept into a Gordian knot of a plot that literally keeps you guessing and sitting on the edge of your suit til the film ends.

Acting was very well done by everyone in the cast. Both Northam and Liu knew how to put just enough spin on the characters to keep you believing. Northam's slow transition from what he thought Thursby should be to the double-agent was fascinating in the subtle nuances.

Cinematography and effects are very well done for a low-budget film. The cuts to dream sequences and the surrealistic feeling of the post-brainwashing scenes were appropriately dizzying--very much got you into the character's feeling.

I rented this film, but am definitely considering purchase. I regret not having seen "Cypher" on the big screen, but it's good to watch it with remote in hand. Occasionally, you do want to rewind and look back. "Cypher" is not a film where you can blink or answer the phone and catch up.

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Pawns R Us.

Morgan Sullivan is a computer geek hired by a secretive organization, Digicorp, to ferret out the secrets of their competitor, Sunways Systems.

In order to be convincing, and pass all the tests that Sunways employs, Morgan Sullivan is transformed into a cypher, a man who is and can be anything he wants to be. A man who can slip through any man-made security protocols imaginable. His new name: Jack Thursby. His identity, a freelancing businessman who attends banal conventions in order to spy upon Digicorp's many competitors, specifically, Sunways. But that's not the only thing that's different. With neural brainwashing as an aid, he literally becomes a different man.

Before he's swallowed too deeply into a confusing rabbit hole, he is pulled out with the aid of a mysterious woman, Rita, a freelance agent herself who works for an equally mysterious man, Sebastian Rooks. With Rita's help, Morgan/Jack is able to shuck off all the brainwashing, even as his world is tossed upside down. The old life, he finds out, is no longer waiting for him but is as dismantled and frighteningly distant from his former self and life than he could ever have realized. But that's only the beginning. What he thought was a gig as a secret agent for Digicorp, is nothing more than a way for the corporation to maintain their secrets why insuring complete control and the inability for the other side to gain access.

Morgan, free of the mindwash and the drugs and now himself (or so he believes), is still not free. Despite his mistrust of both parties and the obvious ploy of his as nothing more than a piece of meat hanging on a hook, he is recruited as a double agent by Sunways. And finds out the hard way that the whole plot, from beginning to end, was a ruse. And the whole purpose? To find an aware spy produced and made by Digicorp--Morgan--that can even fool his makers, to be eventually recruited by Sunways to infiltrate Digicorp.

As he does what he told, not finding any way out other than to do and see what will happen, Morgan is beginning to realize, perhaps too late, that he is but a pawn, and everyone else around him, obstacles in a mind-numbing maze of who to trust and who not to believe. And in the end, to save himself and screw everybody else.

If the solid acting by Northam doesn't entice you (which was pretty stellar from geeky dull Morgan to suave fluid Jack and then to paranoid Morgan/Jack), the visual seduction by Vincenzo Natali might just woe you enough. With a seamless blend of classic film noir, modern sci-fi elements while maintaining a familiar tangible environment, Cypher is nothing but surprises and big wide open, whodunnit and what the hell is going on?

Who are these two corporations? What do they have worth stealing? Who knows, and though you might not care too much, some may have wished for some more info in that area. You won't get it, so just let it go. Because if you think too hard on it, the plot tends to weaken since the whole point for Morgan to infiltrate and steal information. Also, the ending begs the questions of what was so important, what was that information worth, to go that far? You won't find out, so just enjoy it as a simplistic representation of a man on a mission (even if the truth is illusive). While not entirely original and somewhat of an easy wrap-up, it might surprise a few, and somewhat disappoint others. With an equally seductive soundtrack, it sets the mood and the right tone from beginning to end.

Natali combines with little difficultly and ease, several visual elements from other films. It's got bits of Cube (another brilliant Natali creation), The 13th Floor, Gattaca, Sin City, Equilibrium, Dark City, Existenz, among others which you'll recognize, all stylized as one cohesive visual tapestry and somehow, maintaining its own identity.

Lucy Liu as the X-factor and enigmatic Rita Foster is the weakest link, though her role (and sadly, her acting) made less cheesy by the end, and vastly pales in comparison to Northan performance, even Nigel Bennett as the creepy representative of Digicorp is more memorable. But you won't mind because the character plot is complex (though the actual plot tends to be less so), the overall feel is chilling, and the surreal use of color, lighting and textures which further added to the suspense.

Take a headtrip, and see where it'll lead you. It might just make you wonder, and smile.

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"If You Want Answers, Take the Shot!"

The Good Things
*A few neat special effects that are used quite effectively.
*Excellent filming style. Very solid, fluid, and slick.
*Very nifty production design. Lots of interesting sets, costumes, and props. Some of it (like seeing the blocks and blocks of houses that are all perfectly alike) makes you think.
*Interesting use of textures and monochrome colors.
*Good writing.
*Fascinating story.
*Good acting. It's very interesting to see how most people act robotically in this world. The main character acts robotically at first too, but transforms magnificently. Lucy Lui makes for a good, tough, enigmatic character. All these characters are fascinating.
*Good slick music.

The Bad Things
*Not really an action movie; no major fights, chases, or anything (except maybe for a few brief scenes at the end). Like "Gattaca," it's purely a sci-fi drama. Some may find this dull.

This film is surprisingly slick and intelligent; easily comparable to other great sci-fi titles like "Gattaca," "Dark City," or even "The Matrix." For that matter, it may also be comparable to most intelligent sci-fi books, like William Gibson's "Neuromancer." It may not have any major action scenes, but it manages to be thrilling and interesting through its style, writing, acting, and production design. Altogether, it's something sophisticated and intelligent that will leave you thinking.

The DVD has excellent video and sound quality. It is in widescreen, but has no special features other than trailers.

If this reivew has not been helpful, please comment so I can improve on future reviews.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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