By Robert Scucci | Being published
While the modern idea of acting was popularized by Matrix In 1999, there was another movie that came out just months later It was visually pleasing. The thirteenth floorit often looks like a cheap parody of the Wachowski classic, it boasts an alarming amount of resemblance to Keanu Reves-Starrise, but it’s more of an exercise than anything else. In fact, the crowd was so strong that both the movies saw a wide release within two months.
Based on Daniel F. Galouye’s 1964 Novel Simulacron-3, The thirteenth floor explores concepts like that Matrixbut it takes a Pulp Noir approach to its foundation, making an entertaining attempt to uncover the mystery, even if it falls flat and fails to stick to the landing.
Although I don’t want to confuse The thirteenth floor With the emphasis on one line of the yard because it makes a strong effort to build its own reality, it is easy to see why many Sci-Fi fans have considered Matrix a superior film on this subject.
We have a matrix at home
The thirteenth floor It takes place between the real world and the remake, where we are introduced to Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko), the heir to Hannoni Fuller’s (Armin Mueller-Stahl) multi-billion dollar company. Hannon was killed by an unknown assailant on the streets at the beginning of the film in 1999, and the edge of the lapd Larry Mcbain (Dennis Haysbert) thinks that Douglas had enough motivation to do this. After all, you have a lot to get Hannon out of the picture. Soon after, Douglas meets Hannoni’s daughter, Jane (Gretchen Mol), who thinks her father’s technology is too dangerous and should be locked away.
Knowing that he is the main person of Hannon’s murder, Douglas, with the help of his object, Vincent D’OFNEY (Vincent d’Onofrio), opens Hannon Angeles, where Hannon used to test before using his controversial project. There, Douglas takes on the identity of John Ferguson, meets a person who looks like Hannon named Jerry Ashton, who was like Jason Ashton, who was like 1999. With Detective Larry on his tail whenever he returns to the present day, Douglas doesn’t have much time to find Hannon’s real killer, clear his name, and kill Hanson’s secret targets in the process.
It starts to harden, but soon the bullet
Starting strong and forcing a more defined field, The thirteenth floor It has legs, but it quickly pulls out from under its precise foundation. The identity is mistaken, the time periods cross, and the original fabric is reversed every time Douglas goes back to 1937. Whenever he returns to the present day, those close to him begin to act in ways that suggest no one is in complete control due to the difficulty of bonding.
One thing I’ve learned about SCI-FI following this kind of logic is that it’s better when the rules aren’t overly defined, allowing for an internal perspective to unravel. The thirteenth flooron the other hand, it gets low Nutty when the base looks at an exchange like “he thought I was who this person was, but he’s actually the person he thinks he is, because he’s actually the person he’s made of.”
Despite its best efforts and neo-noir vibe, The thirteenth floor He gets lost in the name of growing up even though there is a lot to him. In my mind, Matrix it treats the same enemies with more grace and in a timeless fashion that still feels appropriate today, when The thirteenth floor Long goals for small details that end up reinventing their foundation. Thinking about the movies I’ve watched recently, it’s the same reason why I love the 2020s The ownerbut could not say the same about In hiring. Both films operate on similar premises, but the former does a better job of lowering your expectations instead of hitting the premise over your head.
The thirteenth floor It’s definitely not a Matrix ripoff, but it stays within the same set of rules that it did. However, the reason no one is talking about it is because they are trying so hard to sell you on their example with their logical connection, while Matrix It just happens to you in a way that feels more organic and smaller.
The thirteenth floor it’s streaming on tubi.
