just watch it!

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Weird but essential sci-fi body horror. Playing with themes of reality, sexual and otherwise freewill etc it's a very weird watch where the plot twists are a shock and a relief at the same time, again in a very weird way. I think when Christopher Nolan said his first inspiration for Inception came from The Matrix he really meant this film. Now that I think about it I believe I too have a phobia about things penetrating my body.

Set in a presumed near future, "eXistenZ" follows Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a game designer who has invented a revolutionary virtual reality game in which subjects are plugged into an alternate reality via ports inserted in their spinal columns. After an assassination attempt is made on her during a volunteer participant game launch, she and Ted Pikul (Jude Law), a meek PR agent who has been assigned as her body guard, find themselves on the run in the countryside, where reality and the virtual world of eXistenZ coalesce as they plug themselves in in order to salvage the game.It had been years since I'd originally seen this film, and I recently re-watched it as an adult with some extra years in me, and the film was in some ways stranger (and in others more logical) than I had remembered it. "eXistenZ" is a magnificently surreal exploration of virtual reality with notes of Cronenberg's signature body horror and all the makings of a trippy sci-fi exploitation flick.Fans of science fiction, head trip horror, and Cronenbergian splatter will find plenty of enjoyment to be had here. The film's ominous opening frames the surrealistic, ambiguous shifts in and out of reality that make up the last two third of the movie. I feel that some of the disappointment audiences had with the film (both upon its original release and over the ensuing years) has been due to mismatched expectations; for as much of a sci-fi thriller as this is, it's also extremely talky and dialogue-driven. This gives room for some very interesting and nuanced performances, specifically from Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose acting is calculated and simultaneously free-flowing. In retrospect, Jude Law seems miscast here to me to some degree, although he does succeed in drawing out the beta-male elements of his character that evolve into moments of legitimate confrontation as the film progresses.The special effects here are not over the top, and actually are rather minimal; most of the fantastical whimsy of the film comes from its labyrinthine distortions of events, virtual gameplay, and performativity of the self in both tangible reality and the matrix that is eXistenZ. The finale of the film is understated and shockingly macabre, and, though not as inventive as you may expect, is cleverly constructed and in many ways remarkably dour and nihilistic.Overall, my revisiting of this film was quite an experience; for first-time viewers, it is likely to be even more so. Jennifer Jason Leigh's nuanced performance is reason enough to give the film a viewing, but there is plenty more in way of thematic material, surrealism and hyper-realism, and maddening existential questions that Cronenberg frames through a matrix of science fiction and utter weirdness. The film has held up surprisingly well over the years, and is as engrossing today as it was nearly twenty years ago. 8/10.

The idea of this movie and the way it was put together to take the audience on a inception like ride was amazing, although it has a couple of things that could have made it much better.To start off, the thing about this movie that really brought it down in my eyes was the acting, and line delivery. The acting was sub- par, it wasn't not bad, but it definitely was not good. Some bits just felt really fake and unbelievable, a lot of the actors reactions to situations, especially in the last scenes, just felt very unreal, as if they weren't really trying, and the director wasn't being firm enough with the actors about how he wanted them to be.The second point was the script, some parts of it just seemed really strange, or unnecessary. The sexual-tension between the two characters made the movie feel comedic and silly at some points. Obviously having two attractive young main characters, there is going to be sexual tension, but the way it played out seemed unrealistic. I think the director did intend for some parts to be comedic, but it really distracted me from what I think the director made me want to feel.The last point is the game devices, it was just plain weird. I don't understand why the director couldn't have made it an electronic device. It was another one of those things that just made it feel strange, strange can be good, but this was just an unnecessary strange.Now for the good parts. This movie really makes you think, and it grabs you from the start. It makes you question how real is this reality we are living in, could it just be a game? Are we just actors in a simulation, playing our role for this lifetime? When a director can make an audience think things life this, I love it.The way the movie takes you through the whole story is really interesting, it takes random turns, it confuses you, makes you wonder what the hell is going, on. But in the end, it all comes together.Honestly, it's hard for me to say much more without spoiling anything. I highly recommend this to anyone into existential themes in movies. Try to ignore the flaws, and let the movie take you on it's journey.

This is possibly one of the best movies I've seen. Ever. It is incredibly clever how everything is set out in terms of storyline that keeps you always guessing about what's going to happen next and you are so unsuspecting of the final outcome. Great cast. Great appearance, and most importantly, great storyline. Jude Law, for me stands out the most. This being one of his earlier roles, he still shines through, even sporting an American accent. Great supporting roles from Willem Dafoe and Christopher Eccleston who play minor but equally entertaining parts. The creativity that went into this movie is nothing short of spectacular. Overall great movie that should be seen by all.