"Cypher"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) STARRING Jeremy Northam as MORGAN Lucy Liu as RITA Nigel Bennett as FINSTER Timothy Webber as CALLAWAY Rated R Studio: Miramax Directed by: Vincenzo Natali Back to DVD Review Home |
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“Cypher” is about a guy (Jeremy Northam) named Morgan Sullivan... at least it starts out that way. When Morgan gets a job as a corporate spy for Digicorp Technologies, his identity is changed to James Thursby. He soon finds himself in a program in which operatives are brainwashed into literally believing they are their new identities.
Enter Lucy Liu as Rita, a mysterious woman who helps Morgan defeat the brainwashing techniques. This opens Morgan’s eyes to an intricate web of corporate espionage.
I doubt that corporate espionage is ever this thrilling or dangerous. No one is that loyal in this day in age, after all. But that doesn’t stop “Cypher” from telling an interesting story.
Having never heard of this movie, it’s a safe bet that this is a late-issue DVD release from the Miramax vault. It was probably shot long before Lucy Liu became a full-blown bankable name. That’s usually a bad sign for a film. But in this case, I was pleasantly surprised.
Lucy Liu is actually the weakest part of the film. Sure, her character ends up being critical to the story, but she seems out of place in the general scheme of things. Before the ending (which is a little predictable but still clever), it just seems that she was dropped in the film to fit some investor’s requirements - like a bankable name or a sexy actress.
For once, the real star of the film is the main character. Jeremy Northam does a great job leading Morgan Sullivan through his multiple identities. He has a subtlety in his acting that works in whole scheme of the film.
The story tries to be as big as possible. There’s quite a bit of special effects for as small of a movie as it was. It uses its fair share of CGI effects, but actually they work relatively well for the small screen. In fact, I’ll put the CGI in this movie up against some overblown big budget movies I’ve seen lately.
It’s a shame that “Cypher” slipped under the radar when it did. It’s a pretty decent flick and could have been worth something in a grander sense than just a direct-to-DVD sneak release.
There are no special features on the disc, but it’s still worth checking out. You can’t tell much from the cover box, but “Cypher” is a clever identity-bending thriller. Sure, it’s a little over-the-top and unbelievable, but it’s still a lot of fun.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (1.85:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. French and Spanish subtitles. English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
