Antithriller
Antitrust A film review by Michael Redman Copyright 2001 by Michael Redman
* (out of ****)
The cultural phenomena of the rise to power of the computer geeks over the past several years has been fascinating to observe. Those loner kids with skin tones missing any trace of color from sitting in their rooms hunched over a keyboard are now billionaires and rule the world. In a complete turn-about, head-hunters are searching high school yearbooks for members of the Chess Club and the AV Crew.
You would think that Hollywood would recognize the vast audience of young people in touch with that scene and release films that appealed to them. And you would be wrong. Instead they give us "Antitrust" which appeals to teenage girls in touch with how pretty Ryan Phillippe is.
Stealing most of its plot from "The Net" and "The Firm", this film is old hat. Young computer genius Milo (Phillippe) is seduced by Bill Gates lookalike Gary Winston (Tim Robbins) away from his buddies and into the world of corporate code-writing.
In short order, Milo discovers the underbelly of Winston's evil empire and sets out to put everything right with the world. Not a bad concept, but it fails on almost every level.
Admittedly it's difficult to make typing seem exciting even on the big screen, but the opportunities to generate tension are ignored. This is a prime example of one of the worst film genres: the thrill-less thriller. The scene where Milo discovers the secret plan is remarkably lifeless.
Maybe I've seen too many films. I found myself annoying my companions by predicting the rest of the movie during the first 15 minutes and was only able to stop after repeated beatings. In a story where people are supposedly not who they appear to be and shocks await around every corner, it's probably not such a great idea to make everything so obvious. This might work with the target audience of young girls who may not be acquainted with the hundreds of films this one copies, but for anyone else, it flops.
The one bright spot is Robbins' portrayal of the amoral software gazillionaire. Why this multi-talented man is in this movie is a mystery for the ages, but he does Bill Gates to a T.
Geeks in the audience will be searching in vain for the "Restart" key minutes after it starts. But there is no hope. Nothing to do except watch the program crash and burn.
(Michael Redman has written this column since before computers became domesticated and had more fun de-fragging a hard drive than watching this movie. Email tales of geekdom to redman@bluemarble.net.)
[This appeared in the 1/18/2001 "Bloomington Independent", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bluemarble.net.] -- mailto:redman@bluemarble.net Film reviews archive: http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Michael+Redman
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