Virtuosity (1995)

Directed by Brett Leonard. Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Kelly Lynch, William Forsythe, Stephen Spinella, Louise Fletcher, William Fichtner, Kevin J. O’Connor, Costas Mandylor. [R]

SID (Crowe), a virtual reality program combining the personalities of dozens of serial killers, is “brought to life” inside a synthetic being that then goes on a mad, murderous rampage in Los Angeles. Who can be called on to stop it? Why, none other than a former police officer (Washington) convicted of taking innocent lives while trying to bring down a psychopath that killed his family. Any chance the personality of said psychopath is part of SID’s programming? Any chance that SID then decides to toy with its pursuer the way that said psychopath did? Any chance that everything about the execution is pure routine and a pile-up of contrivances? Dated cyber-effects and milieu give it a clumsy time capsule quality, but it’s always sad when these kinds of high-tech, high-concept thrillers attempt so little that’s original or surprising—the filmmakers even botch a potentially good twist ending by not knowing how to set it up, how to spring it, and when to quit. Almost worth watching for Crowe’s gleefully over-the-top performance as a sadistic cross between Mickey Knox and Max Headroom.

39/100