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Probably one of the best big-budget sci-fi films to never reach a big audience. Written and produced by James Cameron and expertly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this film is more noir than actual sci-fi - although the sci-fi elements are important. With a great cast and an amazing atmosphere throughout, this is one not to miss for fans of thrillers, film noir, sci-fi and especially the subgenre knwon as cyberbunk. 8 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's a list with some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495

"Strange Days" is a unique science fiction and mystery film. Set in Los Angeles during the last two or so days prior to the new millennium, the cast is helmed by Ralph Fiennes as the charming, brave, but shady Lenny Nero. Lenny is a former LAPD officer who loses his job for mostly unknown reasons. He then becomes a black market hustler who sells people's recorded memories for profit. For the most part, these recorded memories are either violent or sexual in nature.

Angela Bassett does a great job complementing Fiennes' "Lenny" character in her role as Macy, Lenny's close friend who makes a more legitimate living as a limo driver and security specialist. Lenny and Macy soon become embroiled in a murder mystery involving corruption within both the LAPD and the music industry. This seemingly ever-deepening mystery also involves Lenny's other close friend, Tom Sizemore's character "Max". Max is a private eye who, despite seeming to be very well-intentioned, is just as shady as Lenny. Juliette Lewis rounds out the cast as "Faith", Lenny's troubled and devious rock singer ex-girlfriend.

Besides the awesome and well-acted performances, what made this movie stand out to me is just how on the nose some of the background references are in it. References to an economic collapse, increasing gas prices, and strained relations between the police and minorities make this a very odd foreshadowing of the actual real-life future.

In conclusion, great acting, a very deep and interesting storyline, and great cultural references make this a very highly recommended film.

I had no idea this film even existed until it showed up in my Netflix 'recommended' column, and I decided to give it a shot after reading some good reviews on there. Wow, am I happy I did.

This was a truly fantastic sci-fi thriller, with intense action and a truly engaging story. The characters were very well constructed and had a lot of substance to them, and of course the acting was superb. Who knew Ralph Finnes could play such a good lowlife?

Set in an alternate (but totally recognizable) Los Angeles of 1999, the world has seemingly gone completely to hell, due to rampant poverty and class/racial tensions which are pushing society towards an all-out state of anarchy. The authorities are barely maintaining order, despite resorting to draconian measures to try and keep things in check. The director does an excellent job of painting this picture for us through fantastic environment and background shots which effectively build the tension and make us fully believe what is happening.

In this world, they have invented a type of virtual reality which allows an individual to record everything they are seeing and feeling directly through their brain, so as to then be played back later through someone else's brain, which allows the user to then see and feel exactly what was recorded without any danger (other than possible addiction). So needless to say a huge black market has sprung up to provide people with recordings of all kinds of illicit, criminal and sexual activities that they'd never actually get to experience in the real world. The plot of the movie builds from this technology.

However, other than this particular device and general state of social affairs, the alternate 1999 is pretty much identical to our 1999 (very much to it's credit). No flying cars, no wacky fashion, no aliens, no laser guns or anything like that. It was a great decision by the filmmakers to not bite off more than they could chew in that regard, as it would have distracted from a very solid story.

The films weaknesses are few, but are there nonetheless. It was a bit long... although I'm not usually one to complain about that kind of thing, so long as the time is necessary to tell the story. In this case an argument can be made either way, though I personally feel they could have lost about fifteen minutes or so (but to me it's a minor issue).

The director also felt the need to very quickly explain the origin of the virtual reality technology through a throwaway line of dialog, which really added nothing to the plot, and honestly made no sense; they said the technology was originally developed for the FBI so that informants wouldn't have to wear a wire, which is just dumb. The device is WAY more cumbersome and easily discoverable than a wire transmitter. How about saying that the military invented it to train soldiers more realistically? Or just leave it alone... true virtual reality is a technological holy grail. I don't think anyone questions why something like that would be invented in the first place, even if it's purely for entertainment.

Additionally, in my opinion, a couple of the 'bad guys' could have had their motivations fleshed out a tad better, but that is a also very minor quibble.

Beyond that, the look of the movie is quite dated, which could hinder the enjoyment for some people. The 1990's did not age very well to our eyes, and this movie is VERY much a product of that era. If you lived through it, you know what I mean. Younger viewers may not fully get the social and cultural allusions that this movie is built upon (Rodney King riots, 90's hip hop culture, rave clubs... things like that)... just something to keep in mind, although if you did live though it, you'll appreciate the depth that these references add.

But really, I can't recommend this film highly enough. It's a completely under-appreciated piece of work, and one of the best sci-fi thrillers out there.

Strange Days is a truly astonishing science fiction offering, part scripted by James Cameron and directed with relentless panache by maverick lady-director Kathryn Bigelow. It presents a depressing and bleak, yet worryingly probable, view of the near future, and hooks its story threads upon the impending millennium eve celebrations. Although December 31st, 1999, has been and gone since the making of this movie, it is a credit to the makers that this film still offers a plausible viewpoint about where the world might be at in the next decade or so.

Ralph Fiennes seems initially miscast, but soon wins over the audience as Lenny Nero, a sleazy racketeer who sells "memories" captured on some form of disk, similar to virtual reality but recorded from real experiences rather than computerised ones. He is desperately trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend Faith (Juliette Lewis), but she doesn't want him as she has hooked up with a music producer named Philo (Michael Wincott). Lenny acquires two disturbing tapes, one showing the rape and murder of a woman, the other showing a racially motivated slaying, and before he knows it he is on the run from the culprits who want to kill him before he exposes their crimes. The only person he can trust is his best friend, lady bodyguard Mace (Angela Bassett). To complicate matters further, his ex-girlfriend Faith seems to know something about the disks, and may either be involved in the crimes or at great risk from those responsible.

Bassett is the real star here, in the role of a lifetime as a morally strong and physically stronger heroine. Lewis plays the same old white trash girl she has played many times, but at least she has the experience to bring total conviction to the role. The production values are incredibly high, especially the party at the end which seems to realistically convey an entire city celebrating in the streets. The plot unfolds slowly, but this is a strength rather than a criticism. Each new development slots into place beautifully, and the audience is given time to get into the characters and the situations (which, in too many movies, we are not allowed to do since the pace is often too frenetic).

Strange Days is challenging and aggressive and frequently disturbing. It is also inventive and exciting and ingeniously staged. It is simply a terrific science film which any devotee of the genre absolutely must see.

Strange Days is an interesting film, with a great premise. It also happens to be well-executed, for the most part. The LA of the future (well, future back when it was released in 1995) is quite dystopian in nature, and Strange Days manages to present all facets of that using Taxi Driver-influenced car rides through the city while observing the chaos on the streets. In many ways, Strange Days manages to create a real-life and convincing future, and it feels like a true place, with things going on independently of the events in the movie, rather than feeling like a movie set.

Atmosphere aside, though, the movie has many strengths. The plot is intriguing, and it flows quite smoothly. A lot of the dialogue is really quite interesting and gives the movie a nice feel (not to mention the actors do a pretty good job with the material). The characters are three-dimension and interesting. While the beginning parts were somewhat disjointed (at least in terms of plot), they did serve as an excellent setup. When the movie was its best (during the middle parts) there is a frantic sense of urgency that really drives the picture along. It's a very entertaining movie, and it managed to form an emotional link with me - always a good sign.

Unfortunately, it kind of goes downhill after that. Strange Days ends up resorting to awfully cliche ideas, complete with plot elements seen a million times in movies before. All of this mars what could have been a real classic film. It's too bad that Cameron and Cocks had to resort back to this, since the movie has so many strengths and so many great things that it could have built on. While the movie is still above average, it just isn't as superb as it could have been. Nonetheless, Strange Days succeeds on many levels and is well worth watching.

'Memories were meant to fade' and some years after its release this has become a little diminished and less visible, especially as it attempts to forecast a technological future that even today is somewhat ambitious.

Always tricky predicting what's to come, although this does foresee with great clarity abuse by those in authority against the same classes and races that are so disenfranchised today - but maybe that wasn't such a big gamble to take. If I had a crystal ball I would foresee the same continuing for another twenty five years and quite probably in perpetuity.

All in all a reasonable variation on a theme you have seen plenty of before and will continue to do so if this is your bag.

The answer being, of course, yes I am impressed.

What a thoroughly enjoyable film Strange Days is. Fast-moving and occasionally violent, it's not high art but then neither is it dumbed-down fodder and it has much to commend it. The central plot revolves around an ex-cop (Fiennes, doing a - to my ears anyway - convincing American accent) peddling FBI technology on the black market. The SQUID technology (Super conducting QUantum Interface Device) electronically absorbs information from the central cortex and allows users to experience the thrill of another's sensations - be it murder, sex, robbery, etc. Of course, this central idea, while fascinating, does derive pretty much directly from a Twilight Zone episode. Were this a "classic" Zone episode from the b/w era, then people would have picked it up straight away and the game would be over. As it is, the inspiration comes from one of the colour Twilight Zone episodes which had even less viewers than Strange Days and so the movie can rest assured it is safe in obscurity. (Give up? Okay, it was episode 23, season three, 1989, "The Mind of Simon Foster". I'm an anorak, I know these things).

But whether such were intentional is pretty much irrelevant as the magpie technique of this film takes from many texts and builds something greater than the parts. One of the two greatest science fiction films of the 90s - the other being the excellent "Twelve Monkeys" - both have built-in sell-by dates by fixing their time period in a very near locale. Hence while the supposed date of Monkeys is long past at 98, this film now becomes a historical document as of New Year's Eve 1999. But then does it follow that we will stop watching 2001 in 2002? Hopefully not, and Strange Days is one that too deserves to be revisited in years to come.

The reason why I commend it most is its rewarding political stance. The development that gets adhered onto the "Squid" plot directly references the beating of Rodney King. Such contemporary referencing may again date it as quickly as the '99 setting, but then we also have Angela Bassett as a very empowered, yet caring black woman. Note how she and Lenny have exchanged traditional gender roles in this film, yet this feels not like some "macho woman" schtick but genuine characterisation. Lenny is a likeable, wisetalking street peddler who spends the film as a human punchbag. Gone is the cliched jaw-breaking action man role for him, instead his only retort to violence is "I'll give you my Rolex". This sense of, if you like, PC-ness, can also be evidenced with the lesbian couple kissing as the year 2000 breaks, or the (one scene only, admittedly) appearance of a disabled man as a central character.

However, the boundary-pushing elements of this movie are tainted by the appearance of Juliet Lewis in the film. A capable actress, her only role appears to be as a receptacle for various men's sexual needs or to gratuitously expose her breasts on multiple occasions. This is a great shame, and a pity that a film which has such high intentions in almost every other area should fall back on unfortunate portrayal.

The dialogue is pitched just about right without being particularly clever, though occasionally it stalls. "You're like a goddamn cruise missile, targetted on making it", Fiennes tells Faith (Lewis) at one point, managing to keep a straight face. Later, Bassett must endure having to say "These are used emotions. It's time to trade them in" and not use her gun on the scriptwriter. When the credits do roll, it's perhaps no surprise that James Cameron was the co-writer, as its slight perfunctory, by-the-numbers stance often reminds one of the machinations of "Titanic". Tom Sizemore as Max is every inch the one-dimensional Cameron "character", while plot twists sometimes feel heavily engineered. Maybe Jay Cocks is responsible for the script's more "human" feel, with particular note going to the moral debate of whether or not to expose the LAPD's murder of an influential black rapper. The two leads debate (internally, as well as verbally, a first for a Cameron movie) the implications and the possible consequences of such an action. Despite its flirtation with the mainstream, Strange Days is a film that dares to pervert the traditional course of Hollywood into a future that is worth seeing. Perhaps predictably, it made little impact at the box office.

In 1999, Los Angeles is racial war zone with the army and LSPD and SWAT officers fighting Afro-American people. The former cop Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is a dealer of illegal recording in CDs that gives the memories and sensations of the recorder to the user. He buys the recordings from the supplier Tick; he misses his former mistress Faith (Juliette Lewis), who was a hooker and now is a singer; his best friend is the private eye Max Peltier (Tom Sizemore) and the limousine driver Lornette 'Mace' Mason (Angela Bassett), who has unrequited love for him. Two days before the turn of the century, the black rapper Jeriko One (Glenn Plummer) is murdered. The hooker Iris (Brigitte Bako) seeks Lenny out but there is an incident and they do not talk to each other. However she drops a recording into Lenny's car while he unsuccessfully tries to meet Faith at a night-club. However her boyfriend Philo Gant (Michael Wincott) does not let them talk. When Lenny learns that Iris was sadistically raped and killed, he gets involved in a sick scheme and discovers dirty hidden secrets.

"Strange Days" is a strange action film with a weird story. Lenny Nero is a complete loser and non-charismatic character. Angela Bassett and Ralph Fiennes do not have any chemistry. Despite the confused screenplay and the flaws, the story is intriguing. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Estranhos Prazeres" ("Strange Pleasures")

"Strange Days" literally has something for everyone. Science fiction, violence, peace, romance, comedy, tragedy, action, you name it -- it's in this film, and it's done with class and intelligence. I agree that this one is destined to become a cult classic. However, be prepared for one of the edgiest, most violent and emotionally exhausting films you've ever seen (the first three minutes of the film make it very clear what you can expect from the rest). There are at least five climactic scenes toward the end, which must break some kind of record. After the movie's over, you may feel like you've just been cooked in a vat of boiling oil... but luckily, you'll be perfectly well-done, not burned to a crisp. 10/10.

This is quite an underrated gem of a sci-fi thriller from The Hurt Locker's director Kathyrn Bigelow and written by James Cameron himself. Strange Days is really atmospheric, clever, and has aged well in some ways. It's like a combination of Blade Runner and Minority Report. The camera work is absolutely amazing in nearly every scene, you would notice that early from the first scene, which shows a restaurant hold-up completely from a criminal's perspective. The film gets very dark half-way through (so this film is not really for the faint of heart) and then ends in a chaotic but satisfying way. I recommend it to sci-fi and thriller fans, but it's not for everyone.

Reading all these glowing reviews, one might get the impression that Strange Days really blew people away in the 90's, but what about now? Is it actually a "good" movie that holds up outside of nostalgia for new viewers? I don't think so.

I'll admit, the first-person memory sequences were cutting-edge at the time and I can see how the original premise, over-the-top story, fun soundtrack, and cyberpunk aesthetics have helped Strange Days amass a cult following over the years. It also clearly influenced better sci-fi movies like The Matrix, so there are definitely some great ideas here. However, once you get past the initial shock value this film offers, you may start to realize why James Cameron let his wife direct it instead.

While I did enjoy the first half-hour of Strange Days, the story ran out of steam fast and I quickly realized there was no engine to keep it going. The script is poorly paced and bloated with unnecessary scenes carried out by flat, forgettable characters. Additionally, the bad writing was made worse by a general lack of chemistry among the cast, making relationships feel unnatural and forced. By this I mean with the exception of Angela Bassett, every other actor looked like they were only there for the paycheck. A result was that whenever the action kicked in or a major plot twist happened, I didn't care. The scenes had zero emotional impact for me because the stakes never felt high enough to matter, even to the point that the big "conspiracy" reveals fell flat.

Do I regret watching Strange Days? Not completely. I may not have enjoyed it as much as I hoped, but it's still such a 90's movie at its core that I appreciated how it works as a time capsule, capable of transporting you back to a simpler time where movies could just be movies. What you see in Strange Days is what you get and nothing more, which isn't so bad when you consider there's literally a scene where Angela Bassett kicks a crooked cop in the balls. Can you imagine such a scene being made today without a political uproar? Impossible!

Overall, Strange Days is far from the worst movie I've ever seen, but I can't recommend it to anyone besides nostalgic cyberpunk fans. That is why Strange Days gets a 5/10 from me.

Unfortunately, this film failed at the box-offices, although it´s one of the greatest masterpieces of the 90s. The first time I saw "Strange Days" was about five years ago, and then over and over again. If you think Ralph Fiennes is only able to play sensitive and problematic characters watch this: it´s his most unusual, but one of the best performances in his career - a performance of a coolness you only would expect from Samuel L. Jackson. Angela Bassett is one of the toughest women cinema has ever seen and Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Glenn Plummer, William Fichtner - every single role is casted perfectly...

"Strange Days" is thriller, drama and big city ballad in one piece. I can´t remember any movie that reflects the philosophy of life of Generation X better than this one. Lenny deals with the "Squids" which are the experiences and emotions of men saved on a mini disc. Emotions as a product, a drug - a compensation of modern life for the growing loneliness and anonymity. The only possibility for weak persons like Lenny to feel real. A movie like "Fight Club" wouln´t have been possible without "Strange Days"; other releases like "The Cell" or even Scorsese´s "Bringing out the dead" copied the incomparable make. Although this film is older than six years it hasn´t lost anything explosive effects, what is connected with the video clip style this movie has, which gives "Strange Days" a touch of being ageless. The two most brilliant scenes are the opening sequence - the robbery in the Chinese restaurant - and the showdown down in the streets at the millenium party. Also the soundtrack (Deep Forest, Peter Gabriel, Skunk Anansia, Strange Fruit...) is one of the best I´ve ever heard, what makes "Strange Days" an unforgettable experience for every watcher. (10/10)

Strange Days begins with an intriguing premise but swiftly descends into an over-the-top Raspberry awards-worthy caricature of itself. The Blade Runner ambiance is undeniable but unfortunately the quality of Strange Days is much lower as it aims to be both serious and satirical, entertaining and morally repulsive. Is it a psychological thriller or is it an action flick? Is it a denunciation of the nihilism of contemporary society or a celebration of freedom?

I presume that this work is listed in books of Cult Classics because it is so extreme and so weird and so excessive and then finally winds down with a happily ever after romantic ending. Really? Like a garbage pizza complete with pineapple and anchovies this work will induce indigestion in anyone with taste.

Yep. It sure shows that Cameron has laid his hand on this film. It has a superb plot, great timing and a spectacular ending - one of the best ever, I might add.

Just about everything you see in this film adds to the momentum. Just look in the background. There is always something going on, someone getting arrested or stealing something or burning something... all of it enhances the doomsday feeling you get when watching.

I also find Fiennes' acting just short of perfect. His face, his gestures and his entire being reeks of the sordid life his character leads. To cast him was genius. Lewis, Sizemore, Bassett and Wincott perform excellently as well - but it's really Fiennes that just makes this film happen.

Do you want to see something unusual for a change? Do you long to see a believable sf-story for once, even despite the fact that the events of the film took place in 1999? And do you yearn for a sensational film made to make you really feel something? See Strange Days.

This film did not do well either commercially or critically when it first came out. Yet over the years it has gained a cult following among sci-fi fans and has cemented its status as an excellent cyber punk thriller.

Lenny Nero (played by a dashing Ralph Fiennes) is an ex cop turned black market dealer who sells discs featuring the lives of others, which is then hard-wired to a skullcap which lets the users explore the lives and feelings of whatever is going on in those clips. He is also haplessly in love with his ex girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) a singer in a relationship with a sleazy record producer.

An equally gorgeous Angela Basset plays Mace, his best friend and driver, who is herself in love with Lenny.

There are a lot of prophetic elements at play, such as police brutality, police corruption, lives observed and experienced by others and a general amount of dystopia.

It's both fascinating and disturbing how this film predicted the future, as well as when it didn't. For instance, it notes that by 2025 there will be a second woman president. It's now in that year and the US doesn't even have one!

What I'm less impressed by is the needless amount of violence directed at women, in particular a brutal sexual assault that leads to death. I thought that for the narrative, there was no need for assault. The film in general has an extreme aggression to it, owing probably to its dystopian elements. But also. Kathryn Bigelow is mostly known for her macho themes. I can see why people would have problems with some of the scenes in this film, and I have to say that they do get in the way sometimes.

The plot is sometimes convoluted, with plot twists aplenty and are not always straightforward. It juggles a lot of interesting elements, such as the love triangle between Lenny, Faith and Mace, which I enjoyed. But then the murder mystery gets a little too complicated at times and, as a result of the shocking violence, dimmers the thrill when the reveal comes.

Despite its flaws, its heart is absolutely in the right place, and it's clear that this is Bigelow's most personal film. And the song at the end made me cry.

Besides the amusing "futuristic" 1999 this movie hasn't aged badly at all. It is a still a great sci-fi thriller and also benefits from very good acting performances.

In a world before everything was recorded this movie predicted the world we live in 2018. Except there was better music in the movie.

The movie that a opened my eyes to Ralph Feinnes's comedic genius. Didn't care for him much before this flick. It's got a wonderful vibe to it, this movie does, this great near-future street mood. It is a little destroyed by some of the wincingly bad hipster drug outlaw lingo, but, well Ralph is such a good sniveling junkie that...what's not to love. A former cop who had a life has now lost everything because he has become a dealer of black market addictive films in which images are fed directly into the brains of the audience directly from the subject's own brain, conveying emotion awa image. A new technology that has become the illicit drug of choice.

Strange Days is a great neo-noir that proves uncovering a sinister conspiracy is a trope that'll never get old as long as it's an engaging story. The anxieties about Y2K are adorable but its exploration of a growing reliance on the past and its critique of police brutality remain very effective.

Ralph Fiennes imbues his sleazy huckster with charm and tragedy which allows him to remain rootable even when he's at his most selfish. Angela Bassett is just so cool. She's clearly physically capable and in a world where everyone has a dark secret, she remains the sole moral anchor.

Kathryn Bigelow's direction is terrific from minute one. The first person point of view for any of the memories creates very distinct sequences, especially that opening robbery. After that there's shootouts, foot chases and a car chase that are done with extreme technical skill, culminating in a finale that's got an endless supply of stylish confetti.

This is basically cat and mouse game with the slightest nod to cyberpunk. Please don't call it sci-fi or SF. It is really neither, and that is a shame.

It took me quite a long time to get around to seeing this film. The general look of the film is great, so are Bassett and Fiennes. Lewis shows off her vocal abilities but not her acting skills. The writing is fair to middling at best, which is a shame. You have to remember that when this film was made, Rodney King was still fresh in everyone's mind. The killing of Jeriko One and what followed should have been handled with more nuance and care. This was a chance for compelling social commentary that was largely squandered. The ending felt a bit ridiculous and disappointing, to me anyway. This all comes after far, far too many minutes. I cannot understand why this movie got away with its length. It could easily have been edited down and not lost anything. I had the distinct impression that the filmmakers were being too precious with their work and not seeing that sometimes trimming makes for a stronger work.

I don't know who I would recommend this film to, I guess fans of Angela Bassett, because she is fierce and gorgeous in this film and definitely worth watching. (...in a not creepy way; she is just always so impressive to me!)