I first saw this soon after release on TV having not been able to sleep. Probably not a good film choice, but I vaguely remember realising that I shouldn't really be watching it and was scared by it, my heart beating hard the whole time. It had quite a profound effect on me. Watching it again, whilst not "horror" as I'd previously thought, it does have enough to make it gripping and I jumped once or twice, despite it being quite obviously dated. The premise is very clever and good science-fiction and possibly the idea behind films like Inception. Whilst I don't like reboots as a general rule, I would be interested to see how this was tackled with today's CGI and technology. The stop-start model animation sequences let the film down in what is otherwise a not-bad watching for a nearly 30yo film.
The plot is not as basic as it first appears, and unfolds in conspiracy-esque fashion and Dennis Quaid is perfect in the role; both funny and cheeky, flirty and sexy but also physical enough to handle some action and stunts believably. Christopher Plummer plays villainous research facility mastermind superbly well with his quiet calm and authoritative manner, perfect foil for Quaid's animation and brash style. There are shades of InnerSpace (insertion into a biological function inner world) but with more sinister and dark method, and with greater ramifications. Kate Capshaw as researcher Jane DeVries and David Patrick Kelly as obvious twisted bad-guy Tommy Ray are stereotype made-to-measure but suited and add to the film's plausibility.
I'm not going to say it's a brilliant film but for it's time, the psychological potential of it and the fact that it's great science fiction and despite it's age is still gripping, I'm giving it a 6/10.
The plot is not as basic as it first appears, and unfolds in conspiracy-esque fashion and Dennis Quaid is perfect in the role; both funny and cheeky, flirty and sexy but also physical enough to handle some action and stunts believably. Christopher Plummer plays villainous research facility mastermind superbly well with his quiet calm and authoritative manner, perfect foil for Quaid's animation and brash style. There are shades of InnerSpace (insertion into a biological function inner world) but with more sinister and dark method, and with greater ramifications. Kate Capshaw as researcher Jane DeVries and David Patrick Kelly as obvious twisted bad-guy Tommy Ray are stereotype made-to-measure but suited and add to the film's plausibility.
I'm not going to say it's a brilliant film but for it's time, the psychological potential of it and the fact that it's great science fiction and despite it's age is still gripping, I'm giving it a 6/10.