derekh

...but boy, was I wrong. Can I have the last two hours and fifteen minutes of my life back? The story is tortuously slow. The lead actor has no charisma, and the lead couple have no chemistry. We're not involved in Bruce's character, and don't really care what happens to him. It seems like forever until The Hulk actually appears, and when he does, he looks like Shrek on steroids. Literally the only positive things in the movie are Sam Neill's performance, and some moments of Nick Nolte's. Luckily, I got to see a sneak preview for free. If you think this review was bad, believe me... it would have been much worse if I'd paid to sit through this.

I was rather disappointed in this film. The trailers and video slip cover would have you believe this film is a suspense thriller. It isn't. There is zero suspense or mystery in the movie, and it would be better if there were. Will Smith's *character* is not aware of what is happening to him or who is responsible for it through most of the film. But the *viewer* knows all along who did what, why they did it, why they're after him...even exactly what they're doing to try and trap him. What could have been an edge-of-your-seat conspiracy thriller is reduced to a ho-hum action flick as we watch chase scene after chase scene where we know exactly who the chaser and chasee are.

The movie isn't badly made or anything. It's just very standard fare. It looked like it would be better, and with a subtle shift in focus, it could have been much better. I felt like I was the victim of a bait-and-switch.

I give it a 5 out of 10. This movie is almost the textbook definition of an average picture.

Most of the comments here compare EdTV -- flatteringly or unflatteringly -- to The Truman Show. This is a totally invalid comparison in my opinion, unless you intend to compare opposites. EdTV is almost the opposite of The Truman Show. Where The Truman Show was about TV as the ultimate deception (a man is totally shielded from the real world, and his fictionalized life is exposed without his knowledge for the amusement of the masses), EdTV is about TV as the ultimate truth-teller (a man is totally revealed to the real world, and his real life is exposed with his full knowledge for the amusement of the masses). Perhaps they're flip sides of the same coin, but they are definitely flip sides...calling it any kind of imitation of The Truman Show misses the point of the film. Its the antithesis of The Truman Show.

As to quality, it is generally solid if not spectacular. There is a bit of a TV-ish quality to it...it would work just as well as a made-for-TV movie as on the big screen. It also suffers a little from some unbelievable moments showing how Ed can't have a private conversation with anyone without a camera six inches from his face. It's done for effect, but there's no reason the cameras couldn't have gotten the exact same picture from further away by simply zooming in. The performances are all pretty good. I especially liked Jenna Elfman as Ed's suddenly overexposed girlfriend. The screenplay is witty in places, if unremarkable.

All in all, a worthwhile look at an extreme example of the voyeuristic nature of modern entertainment. A good rental. I give it 7 out of 10.