This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Yet another example of a high budget, low intelligence blockbuster movie where the plot suffers at the expense of an action sequence inserted in every ten minutes, usually involving lots of shooting and special effects. While I have nothing against action films, I usually like a bit of intrigue and clever plotting to help move things along. Not so in this film.The sole reason to watch is for the special effects, of which there are lots, as the film uses virtual reality as a basis (much like its predecessor, THE LAWNMOWER MAN). The best scenes are the ones where SID is maimed/badly injured, and his limbs regenerate with the help of glass. These scenes are cleverly done, although of course they do borrow from TERMINATOR 2 (speaking of borrowing, the green blood inside SID is strangely reminiscent of the green-blooded androids in FORTRESS). At the end of the film there is a brilliant bit where SID is thrown through glass ceilings and his arms and legs are all cut off. However, they begin to grow back again.Denzel Washington is the star of this film, somewhat surprisingly. Firstly I thought he only appeared in high-class, intelligent movies, but obviously not. The second surprising fact is his muscular, perfect physique. Now the slim Washington is not someone I would immediately suspect of possessing a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger's, so I presume that it was in fact a bodysuit that the actor was wearing. Still, I can't be sure. Washington is a good actor and is fine in his role, but Russell Crowe, as the villain, is very obnoxious (intentional) to the extent that he made me want to switch off. Not the intended reaction I'm sure. Crowe is another Freddy Krueger clone who continually makes stupid, lame wisecracks which will appeal to moronic teenagers, which I for one am not.Kelly Lynch is the expected love interest but is not given much to do, appearing more like a second-rate Scully than anything else. And there we have it. While the action and special effects aren't half bad (in fact, they're quite enjoyable), the film is a clichéd mess to be watched with the brain switched firmly off. And if Crowe hadn't been quite so irritating it might have got a higher score.

Take Blade Runner for the the "who am I?" philosophy part of the movie", add some Terminator 2 for the "let's chase and shoot a self healing shape shifting pretend person" bit,a smattering of Robocop for the vision of the future, with the self identity element too and a tiny bit of Total Recall for the "is this real?" part.Mix them all up with a low budget plus a, forgettable female lead, cute kid in danger a deliciously OTT Russell Crowe and the seemingly clichéd good cop wronged and trying to seek vengeance and closure (that must be the Lethal Weapon element) and you end up with this movie. It tries to be all of the above but lacks focus and is ultimately a dull chase movie with the hard done by cop chasing a super villain, who constantly slips through his fingers.

Just when you think you have seen the last of a movie, the unimaginative producers gather enough cash to re-make a film which has already been seen. In 1991, with John Lithgow playing the heavy, Denzel Washington was the puppet in a movie called 'Ricochet.' It is now five years later and once again Mr. Washington is taken for a violent ride in this Brett Leonard film called " Virtuosity. " Writer Eric Bernt has reached into his fertile imagination and created a Virtual Frankstein called SID 6.7 (Russell Crowe). The story is that under computer expert, Lindenmeyer (Stephen Spinella) a creative genius, a super criminal called SID, once confined within a virtual world has escaped. With Police Chief Cochran (William Forsythe, finally playing a Good-guy), oversees, Lt. Parker Barnes, (Denzel Washington) a former detective as he sets out to recapture an impervious maniacal Android. Each place Sid arrives at, he creates fears, destruction, mounting murders and general mayhem. It's up to Barnes to capture or destroy SID before he lays waste to the city. With Louise Fletcher and Kelly Lynch in supporting roles, this movie is from start to finish a real shoot-em-up action and excitement offering. Perhaps now with its completion we might have an opening for NEW ideas and give Mr, Washington a real challenging role. ****

Both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe are 'A-list' actors who have been in some top-notch pictures during their careers. But even big stars are not immune from taking the attitude that they always must be working in order to make a buck. That's basically what happened here with their decision to be a part of this hopeless enterprise known as 'Virtuosity'.Set in a futuristic Los Angeles, Denzel Washington plays former police Lt. Parker Barnes, imprisoned for life after murdering a terrorist who kidnapped his wife and child. It seems during his failed attempt to rescue his family, not only does he kill Grimes and his associates but a pair of newsmen covering the story. Barnes is called upon (along with another inmate), to test out the Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Center's (LETAC) new virtual reality program, designed to improve officer's tracking skills by hunting down SID 6.7 (played by a one-note Russell Crowe), a virtual reality entity whose personality is a composite of the 200 worst criminals in history. During the test, SID figures out how to raise the sensitivity calibrations in the virtual reality program, which ends up killing one of the inmates who's been participating in the program test.As a result, the Commissioner in charge of the program wants to shut it down but the program's originator tricks his brainy co-worker into turning SID into a real-world regenerating android (similar to the android in Terminator II). SID then escapes and is determined to murder as many people as possible in the real world. Barnes, who proved his mettle during his virtual reality encounter with SID, is now given a chance to earn his freedom by tracking the sadistic criminal down and eliminating him. He's joined by Dr. Madison Carter, a psychiatrist, who acts as a consultant to LETAC.The bulk of the movie involves Barnes chasing SID in various venues in Los Angeles. In contrast to Terminator II, where Arnold Schwarznegger used a high powered shotgun to create large bullet holes in the android he's trying to subdue, Barnes shoots SID with an ordinary handgun, resulting in less dramatic smaller holes that regenerate every time SID is shot. I guess Virtuosity's budget wasn't as big as Terminator II.It appears that SID can really kill Barnes anytime he feels like it and at one point he frees him from a locked armored car as Barnes is being transported back to prison. We're told that SID does this because he simply enjoys the sport of Barnes chasing him. But if Barnes is SID's main impediment to creating more mayhem in the city, why doesn't SID dispatch Barnes right away? Obviously, you wouldn't have much of a movie left if Barnes is eliminated too soon.Finally, Dr. Carter leaves her daughter 'home alone' which allows SID to conveniently kidnap her and threaten to kill the child on national TV. Barnes tracks SID down at the TV station and continues to fire bullets at him that only temporarily impede his movements. Eventually, Barnes has a face-to-face fistfight with SID on top of a high-rise. Despite the fact that SID has superhuman strength and could probably kill Barnes with one blow, their confrontation lasts a couple of minutes, eventually leading to SID's demise as he falls through a glass ceiling and is impaled on shards of glass. As he is about to regenerate, Barnes takes the crystal software program from the back of SID's head which effectively shuts him down. Using the crystal, Barnes tricks SID into revealing the location of Dr. Madison's kidnapped daughter inside the virtual reality world, and then saves the little girl. End of movie.What could have been a fascinating journey through a virtual reality dream-like world, turns into an ordinary cop-criminal encounter featuring a series of dull chase scenes, once SID becomes a real-life android. The similarities between Virtuosity and Terminator II are obvious but the latter movie has much more class. Yes, Virtuosity does have a 'plot' but it's much more laughable than suspenseful. Denzel and Russell Crowe do collect their paychecks but really should be embarrassed to have been part of this vapid, cheesy production.