Nirvana (1997)

Bear in mind that Nirvana appeared a couple of years before Matrix fundamentally changed science fiction. Filmed at a time when Christopher Lambert's Hollywood glory days were over, Nirvana's only flaw is it's low budget. Modest financing presumably led to a limited release, but it is still hard to explain a lack of a proper DVD release for years.In terms of concepts and ideas, particularly at the time of it's creation, Nirvana is an extraordinary movie. With limited means it went as far as a movie could get before kung-fu fighting and CGI became a regular staple in SF genre.What we see here is a near-future dystopia where drugs and virtual reality are a part of everyday life. The references to Neuromancer and cyberpunk in general are obvious. So, if you're a fan of cyberpunk, you'll enjoy this one.

I like a lot of things about "Nirvana" - the ambiance, the soundtrack, most of Lambert's performance, the central "quest" of his character, and the general depiction of a future world in which most human meaning and connection has been subsumed by virtual realities.I don't rate it as high as I might for a couple of reasons: 1) The actual depiction and rationale for Solo's abrupt shift to self awareness isn't convincing at all, and neither is the depiction of the game itself. Seriously in an age of immersive games like Skyrim and Crysis, or even World of Warcraft (for the 90's), who would want to play a dreary game like this? (It is kind of clever that Solo reminds me so much of Mario). If you want to see a real depiction of an immersive VR game that you can believe would seize the collective imagination of a huge worldwide audience, watch "Avalon".2) Some of the smaller roles aren't acted, depicted, or scripted very well ("Joystick"? Really?). I will gladly admit that some of this might be an issue with the dubbing in English, but I have to respond to the movie I saw, not whatever it was like in the original Italian - this is why I always prefer to hear the original voice acting and read subtitles if I can.3) Let's face it, the screenplay just drags in spots. I can sympathize with the balance the director had to maintain between mood, ambiance, and action, but I don't think the end result was as good as it could have been for about half the scenes. Again, the gold standard for me in this kind of subject is "Avalon", which is equally moody and full of discussion and ambiance and empty silences, but never drags.Still, if you want an "art house" movie version of "The Matrix", this might be worth your time, and you might disagree with my reaction to the movie's pacing and some of the dialog and end up enjoying it more than I.

I want to start by praising Diego Abatantuono's performance in this movie. He belongs in more cult films like this. I could see him working very well with the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, or Frank Miller's crew. The man just owns the screen and you can't help but feel his energy. Brilliant job, made the movie for me.As for the rest of the story, I enjoyed it for what it was. A B style creative science fiction movie. I always admired Christopher Lambert for his choice to lend his talent to a more free and open market of film making. There are B Sci Fi movies and then there are B Sci Fi movies with Christopher Lambert, much in the same way Bruce Campbell enjoys the unofficial bad ass award when it comes to B Horror Movies.This is a gem for fan's of the genre, other's may not enjoy or understand how to enjoy a movie like this. I can't really recommend this movie to everyone, but I will recommend it to people who enjoy this genre. 6/10

I'm writing about the English-dubbed DVD version. The FIRST time I saw this movie was in Japan. It was an Italian version with Japanese subtitles. I couldn't follow the story (I don't speak Italian (or French), and the subtitles were way too fast), but the visuals were alluring nonetheless... After returning to America, I have seen the English-dubbed DVD.***SPOILER:*** I DO have a problem with the crux-point of the story: a computer-character's ascension to self-actualization because of a virus(!) is a little too extreme for me to accept. This concept destroyed my suspension of disbelief. BUT(!)... I believe the dialog and the vocal-presentation by whoever did the voice of Jimi's ex was perfect. Excellent delivery.As an aside, I must admit that I usually watch this movie with the sound off along with 5 or 6 other movies on separate monitors while listening to music.