Sci-Fi Shenanigans

A Scanner Darkly (with bonus!)

Hey, look! It's a movie review!

ASIN: B000JMK6LW	A Scanner Darkly (Widescreen) Product Type: DVD
	Amazon's Price: $ 14.64 Buy Now!

I actually watched this movie way back in January. In this case, though, I feel my procrastination made a difference. Why? It has to do with the film's pacing. When I first watched it, I thought the pacing of kind of crap

I meant to write it that way.

. To some extent, I still feel that way. The time spent on Charlie didn't do a whole lot in establishing his importance. It mostly painted a picture of an addict that was beyond help and didn't do much else. I personally felt Robert Downey, Jr.'s character more effectively drove this point home while also shedding light on Substance D. On the other hand, I felt the role of Bob Arctor really played to Keanu Reeves' strong, quasi-silent type strengths. It really suited him. I also enjoyed the big reveal. It took me by surprise and sped up the pace. I just wish it'd happened sooner so we could see this reveal play out a little bit more. Because the ending was so intriguing, my thoughts sometimes focus more on that than the pacing issues. I may have to rewatch it to see if time really has tempered my views on the pacing. And even though, reviews I've seen of this movie state it's a faithful adaptation of Philip K. Dick's work, I'm thinking that reading the source material is the best way to go. But still, the movie is worth a look. Even if you can get past the pacing issues, you have to admit the rotoscope animation is fun to watch.


(Oh, and this thread needs love. "Open season on Spider Man!"   Just sayin'.)