Impostor (2001)

The story: Waking up one morning, a top scientist and weapons designer finds himself accused of being a replicant / cyborg impostor, planted by aliens in order to assassinate the leader (i.e. dictator?) of earth. To quote Tom Cruise in the competing movie Minority Report: "Everybody Runs", and so he escapes, trying to prove his innocence / identity.

I was expecting this movie to be quite boring, either too confusing or too Hollywoodised to be enjoyable. Still I rented it on the off chance that they might have made a good sci-fi movie without anyone noticing. And I was actually quite surprised: I did enjoy the movie. I have to admit, I spent a lot of time speculating about the outcome, as there were many hints in the movie, and I became quite interested whether the script would follow through with them or leave them as plotholes. The movie is thrilling (I kinda like "Man on the Run" movies) and has some fun, but not too clever or revolutionary, setpieces. The world the movie is set in is quite acceptable, mixing many of P K Dick movie gimmicks (hover-cars from Blade Runner, personal identification similar to Minority Report, an Orwellian government presence similar to Total Recall).

By the time the movie reaches its climactic finale, I was very thrilled and also very excited. The ending was just perfect, exactly what I wanted it to be. So while I doubt whether the movie will be great on repeat viewings, it definitely is worth seeing. It does not quite fit into the usual Hollywood scheme of things and had a tough time, being released in the same year as Minority Report, but to me it definitely wasn't inferior to that much anticipated and overhyped movie...

One warning though: Near the start, there is a particularly gruesome and gory scene that fully deserves an 18-rating in my opinion, instead of the 15 rating the movie received. I feel the movie could have done without showing it quite as explicitly - in fact, the horror of just watching actor's faces without seeing the actual projection might have been much more effective and elegant.

7/10

Fmovies: It's a race against time, and my time is running out. I know who I am, but nobody believes me. And if I can't prove my innocence, my identity, then I lose. The game is over, and my life will mean nothing. Is this how I will end? Will all that be left behind be an empty shell, an echo of me? Is this how it will all end?

Impostor is a heart-pounding, adrenaline rush of one man's race to prove his identity and to save his life. His race against time will bring him close to his would-be captor, but his enemies are closer than you think. And nothing is what it seems, and through the talented Mr.Gary Sinise , we are carried forth in the struggle of one man to survive the impossible. And with every twist and turn in a brilliantly written story, our breaths are held, and we are captivated by a chilling ending. Do we really know who we are, and do we believe ourselves when we say, "It's me. It's me."

I watched the feature length "director's cut", then viewed the 37 minute short version on the dvd. The short film is much better! It's more faithful to the PKD story and captures the theme of identity and illusion vs reality more concisely. It's essentially the beginning and ending of the feature w/additional scenes that flesh out the characters. The short makes Olham a little more contradictory - he tells his wife that his project is a good thing, then he questions what he's doing with his friend at the Project. What's missing is the interminable chase that's been done better in innumerable films (see The Running Man for example). Vincent D'Onofrio is a particularly good villain who's not really a villain (or is he?)......................

Impostor fmovies. 5.5 out of 10

Impostor was the first of 2002's futuristic thrillers (the other two being Minority Report and the Equilibrium) and it's also easily the weakest, which is no surprise when you consider this is essentially nothing more than a blown-up short film. Not surprisingly, critics were harsh on this one, and while many of the complaints are valid, Impostor is still a bit better than its reputation.

The film's concept, that of a seemingly normal man accused of being a replicant, is a fascinating one, but it's unfortunately drowned by director Gary Fleder's obsession with shaky camera movements and quick cuts. The script, written by a committee (or at least a group of people who had a hand in it), suffers from too many logical flaws to fully work as the cerebral sci-fi it obviously aspires to be. Most importantly, the question of identity and what it means to be human is never fully addressed and only touched upon briefly.

But flawed as the film is, the cast is solid, with Sinise delivering yet again another terrific performance, and the special effects are actually convincing (the cityscapes are genuinely awe-inspiring). The movie's fast pace ensures it's never dull and there are even a few exciting action sequences (most notably the hospital fight/chase). But best of all is the climactic plot twist, a no-holds barred surprise that boosts the film up a notch. As a whole, the movie is mostly middling, but there are enough inspired moments to make this an enjoyable viewing.

this is a terrific,well acted movie.it has plenty of action,a very good storyline and is also realistic.it asks many questions and leaves the viewer to answer most of them.i was drawn into this movie right from the beginning until the very end.there are some great,and unexpected (for me,anyway)plot twists.the ending i thought was brilliant.i felt the writers really captured the look and feel of a futuristic earth at war with the enemy.i also liked the fact that you never really know who the enemy is,until the very end.even then,i wasn't sure.if you are looking to be entertained,you should give this movie a try.if you like compelling and thought provoking action and drama,you should also give this movie a try.this movie has some intelligence behind it,which many movies today are sorely lacking.this is one of the best movies of the Sci/Fi genre i have seen to date. i wouldn't call it a masterpiece,but it is a very solid,well done film.My vote for "Imposter" is 9/10

I was surprised to see that IMDB users had rated this movie as low as they did. This movie really exemplifies the paranoia that is typical of the works of Philip K. Dick much better than the more expensive and more widely-seen "Minority Report". As much as that movie had going for it (great visuals and action, leavened by the right amount of humor), it let the viewer off the hook at the end by resolving the story with a tidy, happy, feel-good ending. "Impostor" is a much lower budget film and very grim but remains true to its Phildickian origin throughout, with the plot unfolding layer by layer until the end, which is both shocking and inevitable. It's the kind of stuff great "Twilight Zone" episodes were made of.