Webmaster

For a movie released in 2000, this movie is very disappointing. But then I found that it was actually a '98 Danish movie called Skyggen that was dubbed (badly) and released in English. It didn't even satisfy my need for a Sci-Fi flick. The acting was only OK, and the computer generated graphics were probably OK for '98, but still nothing spectacular.

It is not per se a good movie, but I still enjoyed it a lot. 90s scifi and tech lingo like "cyber", "techno" and "hyper" along with how being a "webmaster" is top of the crop (since this is from back when www was peak technology) is very interesting looking back at it now. I dig the kitschy "future" graphics and 90s tech vibe, as it really catches the zeitgeist, even if the movie itself is a bumpy ride. The jungle and techno soundtrack is great even today though.

The bad parts is the at times terrible acting. The main character Lars Bom does a good job, but the other performances are very uneven. The script sometimes feel awkward and probably carries a lot of the blame for making the acting seem off, as some parts of the plot seem underdeveloped and silly. The movie is really cool in places, but that probably only exacerbates the bad moments and make them stand out more.

The movie has all the right elements to become a cult classic though. Never groundbreaking, but it perfectly captures how the future was imagined in the 90s. The movie would have looked cheesy and amateurish back in '98 (and still does), but nostalgia makes many of its shortcomings seem charming instead of damning, and the movie is probably better in 2021 than it was then.

I watched the non-dubbed version with English subtitles by the way.

One of the best cyberpunk movies ever. The story of two people trying to find each other in a shadowy underworld where computers are everywhere. Atmospheric and fascinating. The story is kind of like Strange Days, but better. The music rules. Ignore the stupid box and just rent it, you won't be disappointed. 9 out of 10.

"The Danish Bladerunner" is boldly stated on the box. Are you kidding me?! This film is a complete drag. When I'm thirsty and go for a soda in the kitchen, I usually pause the vcr, so I won't miss anything. Not this time. I actually found myself looking long and hard in the fridge, just so I wouldn't have to go back. Why the hell is there not ONE sciencefiction-scriptwriter out there who has the vaguest clue about how computers work? It's mindboggling. One of the premises of film, is that our hero (who's a hacker), has a little computerassistant to help him (the Microsoft Office paperclip finally caught on in the future). When he loses the assistant in the movie, he's helpless and can't get into any computers. HE'S A HACKER! It's like saying, that you can't drive your car, if you don't have your lucky "driving-cap" on. I won't even go into the lightning-effect when he recieves electroshock...

My hopes of seeing "arthouse cyberpunk" in a Danish style ended in disappointment. The film seemed to have several grave problems: the plot was simple to the point of being cheap, the quality of filming and cutting was inconsistent, use of computer graphics was from the 80's and numerous erotic scenes were "out of context". The movie fails to portray any innovative and philosophically interesting insights to the future of cyberspace. Since the budget has apparently limited visual and technical aspects of the film, the artistic and philosophical aspects should have been emphasized.