NEW Hardwired (DVD)

This movie fails on essentially every level it can fail. The idea is bad. The script is bad. The costumes and hair styles are bad. Even most of the acting is bad. How this ever got a green light is beyond me, particularly given that, though not a tremendously expensive production by any means, the money spent making it is far above what it deserves.

Science Fiction, or in this case Speculative Fiction, has always been a fertile ground for film making. And a lot of guys have figured out how to do it. Even some movies with really wild plots have been able to get the audience to suspend their disbelief. But if a viewer believes any of this they have serious issues.

Here's the scoop. The corporations own the world and one of them, "Hope Industries", figures that normal advertising is no longer effective and cooks a scheme to plant ads directly into someone's brain via a circuit implant. It's still in the test phase so they're working out the bugs. They stage a car accident with Cuba Gooding Jr. to provide the opportunity to implant the chip in him and the plot takes off from there.

He gets help from an outlaw group of rebels intent on bringing Hope Industries to its knees. There are only 4 of them so it's a daunting task to be certain, but they're computer geniuses and can hack and gain all sorts of intel at lightning speeds. And Hope Industries, with it's near limitless resources, seems to have weak spots all over its operations. It's amazing how even low level people in the company, even actors it their commercials, have information pertinent to the company's goings on.

That's as far as I'm going there. Just let it be known that this movie is dumb beyond the meaning of the word. All those involved must have led lives devoid of the movie going experience. Now granted, I've seen way too many movies in my life, and I've got more than a few years under my belt, but even someone with way less viewing experience than myself can see that this is simply an inept venture into the genre.

Wasn't Cuba Gooding a good actor once upon a time? What happened to him here? And Val Kilmer. On the cover art he looks like the Val of days gone by. In the movie he looks like he crawled out of the bottom of a bottle. Michael Ironside phones in his performance. This is just a wasted effort all the way around. Don't waste your time or money.

For once, the unanimous slander and dislike for this film is adequately placed and accurate. I watched the whole film and the included documentary, and when it was all done - I wholeheartedly recommend skipping the film and to watch the supplement.

Cuba fills his role of the hero in a not-so-distant future where corporations control "everything". He is given a second chance at living after suffering a brain deadening accident. This new chance is having a chip implanted into his neck that allows him to live again, but with consequences. The bad guys, hilariously led by Val Kilmer (worst hair, worst lines, worst everything for him in years) and the good guys led by Michael Ironside (the only good point here) battle for control of Cuba's brain, coupled with his own fight for his memories. Bad effects and loopy writing make for a weak execution, but I have to give props for them doing the exploding head routine in minute one. All kidding aside, there was really nothing to hold your interest and the sound gets over-saturated in each brain sequence (almost a mix of the Johnny Neumonic and Matrix sounds - but painfully done). The inside-his-head effects are 80s-ish and have a TV look. The picture is decent clarity though and the 5.1 gets utilized often to the outer channels.

The supplement is a 17-minute making of that features interviews and adequate behind the scenes for what the film was. Interesting points included the usage of the now defunct Watchmen street set, Cuba being "moved" by the script, and the enjoyment by everyone in getting to work with Ironside. The documentary does feel like a fluff piece, but in a better way of making a point than the film was in trying to entertain. One star for the film and one for the supplement. Skipper otherwise.

EDIT: Speaking of bad hair...just realized the cover art is not a pic of Val from this film (no trust in what his do looked like in this film to promote sales), best I could tell it looks like it came from Conspiracy, or one of the other 20 films from last year...oh well.

Cuba Gooding is an actor I do appreciate. He carried his role just fine but in the end, I felt like I should've waited until it was $7 at Walmart.