This is what rampant insomnia drives you to - that and having an Amazon Prime account and a Roku box. I actually watched Freejack.
Freejack is a strange Sci Fi film from the early nineties (1992 to be specific) that follows a lot of the usual "dystopia" themes. The specific plot involves technology that allows the consciousness of a person to be transferred into a new body when they are dying. The new bodies are supplied by the use of time travel technology to scoop people out of the past who are within seconds of death themselves - usually accident victims. Normally this "new body" person never regains consciousness and the transplant goes off normally. Occasionally they do wake up - such a person is a Freejack and considered property of the person who was paying to have their consciousness put into that body. I know the explanation is a bit clumsy but the plot itself is a bit naff anyway.
Visually, the movie is a very mixed bag. Some of the SFX are very good (like the actual capture out of time of the person) and then some are awful (like the "battle of minds" at the end of the film). Plus, they are clearly intending to create a dystopian view of future society but it only partly comes off that way - sometimes it feels very dystopian and other times more like the set of "Lethal Weapon". I don't know why it turned out that way but it does kind of take one out of the intended mood of the picture - assuming there is an intended mood.
Plotwise, the film has an okay story but there are some goofy elements to the plot. Basically the story has a race car driver who "died" in a crash get taken as a body, wake up and escape. The rest of the plot is the manhunt for him, his finding his girlfriend from the past who now is a high ranking member of society and also an attempted corporate coup de etat in the making against the man who paid for the body. Generally it works as a vehicle to propel action but the level of "convenient coincidence" is high.
In acting terms, this is overall a good cast. Anthony Hopkins does a good job with the limited part he has. Rene Russo is always a delight and does not disappoint here.
Then there is Emilio Estevez..
Why was the guy ever cast in a major motion picture? He hams it up terribly in all his films, and this one is no exception. His performance is all over the place with bad Schwarzenegger impressions, inappropriate laughter and what seems an inability to portray any real "gravity" to his character. From the way his character (who is being hunted by the authorities who plan to give his body to someone else) acts you would think he is the host of a game show or something.
On the other hand, Mick Jagger is actually good in his performance in this film. He has an intense, semi-cynical but almost likable quality that really works for his part (he runs a paramilitary unit that does the time travel "snatch and grabs" of the bodies that are paid for). It also helps that the writers gave him most of the good lines in the movie. For example, when Estevez saves his life he reciprocates by giving him a head start - he covers his eyes and starts loudly counting off "one mississippi, two mississippi, etc. " - it works.
Overall, I can't go so far as to say it is worthwhile watching. It did pass the time however.
Freejack is a strange Sci Fi film from the early nineties (1992 to be specific) that follows a lot of the usual "dystopia" themes. The specific plot involves technology that allows the consciousness of a person to be transferred into a new body when they are dying. The new bodies are supplied by the use of time travel technology to scoop people out of the past who are within seconds of death themselves - usually accident victims. Normally this "new body" person never regains consciousness and the transplant goes off normally. Occasionally they do wake up - such a person is a Freejack and considered property of the person who was paying to have their consciousness put into that body. I know the explanation is a bit clumsy but the plot itself is a bit naff anyway.
Visually, the movie is a very mixed bag. Some of the SFX are very good (like the actual capture out of time of the person) and then some are awful (like the "battle of minds" at the end of the film). Plus, they are clearly intending to create a dystopian view of future society but it only partly comes off that way - sometimes it feels very dystopian and other times more like the set of "Lethal Weapon". I don't know why it turned out that way but it does kind of take one out of the intended mood of the picture - assuming there is an intended mood.
Plotwise, the film has an okay story but there are some goofy elements to the plot. Basically the story has a race car driver who "died" in a crash get taken as a body, wake up and escape. The rest of the plot is the manhunt for him, his finding his girlfriend from the past who now is a high ranking member of society and also an attempted corporate coup de etat in the making against the man who paid for the body. Generally it works as a vehicle to propel action but the level of "convenient coincidence" is high.
In acting terms, this is overall a good cast. Anthony Hopkins does a good job with the limited part he has. Rene Russo is always a delight and does not disappoint here.
Then there is Emilio Estevez..
Why was the guy ever cast in a major motion picture? He hams it up terribly in all his films, and this one is no exception. His performance is all over the place with bad Schwarzenegger impressions, inappropriate laughter and what seems an inability to portray any real "gravity" to his character. From the way his character (who is being hunted by the authorities who plan to give his body to someone else) acts you would think he is the host of a game show or something.
On the other hand, Mick Jagger is actually good in his performance in this film. He has an intense, semi-cynical but almost likable quality that really works for his part (he runs a paramilitary unit that does the time travel "snatch and grabs" of the bodies that are paid for). It also helps that the writers gave him most of the good lines in the movie. For example, when Estevez saves his life he reciprocates by giving him a head start - he covers his eyes and starts loudly counting off "one mississippi, two mississippi, etc. " - it works.
Overall, I can't go so far as to say it is worthwhile watching. It did pass the time however.
