Freejack checks all the boxes of a cyberpunk movie... but I still find it boring
Freejack checks all the boxes of a cyberpunk movie... but I still find it boring
On paper, Freejack sounds like the perfect cyberpunk movie. The rich have their consciousness uploaded onto a server when they die. They then pull someone's body from the past into the future so they can download their consciousness into that body and continue living. The corporations are in control, there's a massive rich/poor divide, etc.
Yet in execution, I just find the movie boring. It might be due to Emilio Estevez always looking bored throughout the movie. Or maybe it's the costume design that's so bland. The poor areas have people with sufficiently dirty clothing but in the rich area, people are just wearing... clothes. For most of the movie, Emilio just wears a tan jacket. It's weird how the cars are crazy futuristic in the rich part of town yet everyone dresses like it's the early 90s (when the movie was made).
The movie almost could've been another Johnny Mnemonic given the plot. And yet, by losing the wacky over-the-top acting and designs of Johnny Mnemonic, Freejack just feels bland to me.
But maybe I'm being too harsh on it. It's streaming everywhere, so go see for yourself if you haven't watched it. Tubi, Freevee, Roku, Kanopy, Shout-TV
Or, Cyberpunk is a Free Jack game.
Bad acting and bad direction will result in a bad movie
Per Wikipedia:
According to reports at the time of the production and interviews with some members of the cast and crew, the original version of the movie had a disastrous test screening, so producer Ronald Shusett was brought in to re-shoot around 40% of the movie and add more character scenes and humor. Emilio Estevez also mentioned how director Geoff Murphy let them down by focusing too much on action in his original cut of the film. Geoff Murphy claims that there was interference from production company Morgan Creek and that he asked for his possessory credit to be removed.[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freejack#Production
I always liked it as a kid, but yeah, it's clearly a movie that had a lot of trouble and the results speak for themselves. It's a neat idea, at least.
I had never heard of this movie, but the premise seems similar to the Netflix show Altered Carbon, which is also cyberpunk and I enjoyed.
Yeah, rich people downloading their consciousness into a younger body isn't really a unique idea. There was also a Batman Beyond episode and a Ryan Reynolds movie with the same plot. The first season of Altered Carbon did a great job with it though.
I think it was a plot point in Stepfather Bank, which, now that I remembered it exists, I think might be a bit cyberpunk too. I'll have to reread it at some point.
Altered Carbon is based off of a series of books my Richard Morgan. Highly recommended!
season 1 was awesome. season 2 sucked though
Yeah, it wasn't a good movie. Lacked vision, budget, and direction. They just ended up with a generic action movie and expected the star power to carry it.
Boring entertainment is spot on to the true cyberpunk vision though, so it's perfect you see
Better than the novel it was based on, though. Amazing soundtrack, too.