Metacritic reviews

Niccol's futuristic fable is a gorgeous construct, from its cast on down to the brilliant, clinical nature of the set design that reflects a future in which even a particle of saliva can be one's undoing.

This is one of the smartest and most provocative of science fiction films, a thriller with ideas.

Andrew Niccol wrote and directed this intelligent and suspenseful science-fiction drama featuring strong performances by Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, and Gore Vidal.

Implausible in countless ways and wooden for long stretches, Gattaca at least never collapses into a special-effects barrage or erupts in long, choreographed explosions; it sticks carefully to its pristine vision.

Sets, music, and imagery are rigorously controlled and undeniably stunning, but after a while flaws creep into the plot's double helix.

Designer babies rule dystopia in stylish SF thriller filled with recycled plot devices.

Although that's enough plot for two movies, Niccol proceeds to clog up his meticulously mounted story with a murder and a romance (hence Uma Thurman), allowing needless intrigue to distract from his ideas.

Niccol's work is artful but self-important and thin.

Clearly, an effort was made to create a serious, thoughtful movie.

The moody images and Michael Nyman's score aren't enough to salvage this banal 1997 science fiction story.