I remember when this premiered in 1999; at the time I caught the opening scene but never got any further. Now that I've finally sat to watch it in full, more than twenty years later - well, it's not bad, but the title at large operates on about the same level as the first minutes. That is to say, the plot is built on one contrivance after another of hearty suspension of disbelief, or what in purely cinematic terms is called Movie Magic. There are plenty of cliches, too, and strictly speaking some of the language is noticeably dated. One could cheekily argue that 'Fatal error' is a 90-minute public service announcement encouraging people to turn off their screens and step outside. This is enjoyable, with the caveat that viewers must be willing to engage with material that's about as realistically believable as a superhero comic.
True, definite themes present - relevant to real life - of corporate malfeasance, profit over people, the ubiquity of technology, and so on. On the other hand, we also get male and female leads, with requisite troubled backgrounds, who are destined for romantic entanglement just because they exist in the same space. A kernel of science is woven into the narrative in terms of the integration of the body's organs, and how information is processed through our optical nerves, and this is then twisted together with a proto-cyberpunk conception of technology also entering into that configuration. I'm not familiar with novelist Ben Mezrich, but the resultant story comes across as Michael Crichton-lite, wherein all that would be needed to complete the effect would be alarmist overtones decrying the evils of science. Scene writing and individual story beats launch forward with the unaware bravado of "This is how the plot will progress." None of this is to say that the writing is inherently bad, as it's all solid enough for what 'Fatal error' wanted to be, but the colloquial maxim about taking something with "a grain of salt" should in this instance be updated to reflect "a truckload of salt."
The effects, post-production visuals, and makeup that we see employed throughout to realize the death scenes are suitably gruesome to disturb the youngest of possible viewers, though it should be said that the more the camera lingers on such moments, the more over the top they appear. The feature is otherwise well made from a technical standpoint, with competent direction, sound, production design, and so on. The assembled cast are just fine. When all is said and done what it comes down to is that this is essentially B-movie sci-fi packaged inside a network TV thriller. That phrase may set off alarm bells for some, and understandably so, yet it's unfair to say this is without value. It's entertaining in the same way any second-tier motion picture can be: not particularly moving, stimulating, or otherwise rewarding, but a passable diversion. Yes, one has to accept a veritable cavalcade of gimmicky notions to have fun here, but if you can do that, then it's not a wholly deadly mistake to watch 'Fatal error.'
