@Goellnerd, I'm super glad I read your comment before watching because as long as I convinced myself that Keanu was actually Nic Cage in disguise it made the whole experience much more bearable. Hard to take any of it seriously, though. Even the first 30 minutes is chock full of sorely unintended laughs when you should be feeling sad. Agree with @Siskoid, this could have been one of the greatest tear-jerking and poignant films of all time with a better script and solid direction due to the themes it touches on. Instead it turned into the kind of film that you watch with friends and laugh at.
Replicas is a failure in writing, sure, spending half the movie watching Keanu Reeves trying to resurrect his dead family by putting their brainwaves in copies, something you KNOW has to happen from the title alone, and it's so full of plot holes, you can't walk a foot without falling into one. It's also a failure of science, because it's all patently ridiculous. But mostly, it's a failure of imagination. The film sets up a potentially fertile area of science fiction to explore the human condition, what makes us US, whether there's an ineffable human quality, like a soul, etc. and then blows it on a formulaic third act, turning the story into a lame thriller. Consequences go out the window, even for the villain in fact, and it feels like somebody rewrote the ending without really looking at the the first two acts more than once. It might have helped if we got to know the family a little more before it meets its end, but Alice Eve as the wife might as well be a robot from jump. Strictly for people who like to get dad vibes from Keanu (you know who you are, Replacements fans), but regular audiences will find it pointless and deeply wrong-headed.
Add your comment
Comments 1 - 4 of 4
lachyas
It's quantum, baby!DisneyStitch
@Goellnerd, I'm super glad I read your comment before watching because as long as I convinced myself that Keanu was actually Nic Cage in disguise it made the whole experience much more bearable. Hard to take any of it seriously, though. Even the first 30 minutes is chock full of sorely unintended laughs when you should be feeling sad. Agree with @Siskoid, this could have been one of the greatest tear-jerking and poignant films of all time with a better script and solid direction due to the themes it touches on. Instead it turned into the kind of film that you watch with friends and laugh at.goellnerd
So unforgivably bad that it looped back around to good. Hard to believe Keanu made this instead of Nic Cage.Siskoid
Replicas is a failure in writing, sure, spending half the movie watching Keanu Reeves trying to resurrect his dead family by putting their brainwaves in copies, something you KNOW has to happen from the title alone, and it's so full of plot holes, you can't walk a foot without falling into one. It's also a failure of science, because it's all patently ridiculous. But mostly, it's a failure of imagination. The film sets up a potentially fertile area of science fiction to explore the human condition, what makes us US, whether there's an ineffable human quality, like a soul, etc. and then blows it on a formulaic third act, turning the story into a lame thriller. Consequences go out the window, even for the villain in fact, and it feels like somebody rewrote the ending without really looking at the the first two acts more than once. It might have helped if we got to know the family a little more before it meets its end, but Alice Eve as the wife might as well be a robot from jump. Strictly for people who like to get dad vibes from Keanu (you know who you are, Replacements fans), but regular audiences will find it pointless and deeply wrong-headed.