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Distinguishing neon, body mods, subversive leads, mean Japanese people, super-globalized environment, attractive hacker chick in tank top, self-loathing haircuts, and virtual reality. Kool.
Our uncharacteristic cyberspace comes in the form of an eponymous virtual reality game, wherein the main playable character is consciously attempting to erase his existence. Despite the outside world being so fleshed out and pretty, the game world is underwhelming. There’s inverted-Sin City-esque splotchy B&W and color juxtaposition, and a disappointingly pedestrian environment. The real world looks more cyber-y; the virtual world looks phoned in.
After scrounging and suffering through awful English dubbing, I finally tracked down an original Italian copy. Unfortunately, someone thought it’d be wise to cast two French stars, so you’re gonna endure dubbing either way. Being long-familiarized with Christopher Lambert’s signature nasaly murmur, it’s difficult to look past his Italian deep vocal surrogate.
So, this isn’t great, but it’s one of better subgenre forays. Apart from some budget limitations and dubbing, it isn’t too cheesy or overly-bombastic. I can’t think of much to write about here. It does the job.
Nirvana (1997)
Distinguishing neon, body mods, subversive leads, mean Japanese people, super-globalized environment, attractive hacker chick in tank top, self-loathing haircuts, and virtual reality. Kool.
Our uncharacteristic cyberspace comes in the form of an eponymous virtual reality game, wherein the main playable character is consciously attempting to erase his existence. Despite the outside world being so fleshed out and pretty, the game world is underwhelming. There’s inverted-Sin City-esque splotchy B&W and color juxtaposition, and a disappointingly pedestrian environment. The real world looks more cyber-y; the virtual world looks phoned in.
After scrounging and suffering through awful English dubbing, I finally tracked down an original Italian copy. Unfortunately, someone thought it’d be wise to cast two French stars, so you’re gonna endure dubbing either way. Being long-familiarized with Christopher Lambert’s signature nasaly murmur, it’s difficult to look past his Italian deep vocal surrogate.
So, this isn’t great, but it’s one of better subgenre forays. Apart from some budget limitations and dubbing, it isn’t too cheesy or overly-bombastic. I can’t think of much to write about here. It does the job.
Takeaways:
- Producer: “We need that one Japanese guy in the industry who speaks fluent Italian.”
- “oh sh*t he’s got a hand gun” :
- This is definitely Italian virtual reality.
- I appreciate how cyberpunk computers work and don’t work at the same time.
