Cypher (2002)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Vincenzo Natali

Writer (WGA):

Brian King (written by)

Release Date:

18 January 2003 (Japan)

Genre:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Never forget who you are.

Plot:

An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Brainwashing | Future | New Identity | Corporate Espionage

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Northam	...	Morgan Sullivan
Lucy Liu	...	Rita Foster
Nigel Bennett	...	Finster
Timothy Webber	...	Callaway
David Hewlett	...	Virgil C. Dunn
Kari Matchett	...	Diane
Kristina Nicoll	...	Amy
Joseph Scoren	...	Digicorp Technician #1
Stephen Brown	...	Digicorp Technician #2
Arnold Pinnock	...	Pilot In Mensroom
Jocelyn Snowdon	...	Stewardess to Buffalo
Boyd Banks	...	Fred Garfield
Steve Jackson	...	Waiter Buffalo
Dan Duran	...	Buffalo Speaker #1
Valerie Buhagiar	...	Buffalo Speaker #2

Also Known As:

Brainstorm (International: English title)
Company Man (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:T | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Pandora Cinema

Trivia:

Was shot in 35 days.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Morgan is given his fake California ID, it shows a Blue and a Red Bar below the name and address. The Blue line is to denote a provisional license for those under 18 at the time of issuance, and the red bar is to denote what year the ID holder turns 21. Morgan is appears to be in his 30's, so there would be no colored bars on his ID.

Movie Connections:

References Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

Terrific sci-fi thriller

When The Matrix appeared in 1999 and questioned existence and identity, it was expected that a lot of movies would use it as inspiration. That didn't really happen, surprisingly, and it took till 2002 for a movie of similar theme to appear. But to say Cypher is a clone would be to its discredit.

The story is of a Morgan Sullivan, who applies for a job with a high-flying techno-company called Digicorp. His job is to be a spy and gain information about a rival company, while under an assumed and false identity. His home-life is perfectly normal but he has to lie to his wife about what he's actually doing. However, things start to take conspirital turns and before he knows what's going on, he starts to question who he actually is. This is not helped by a strange woman who turns up...

Twists and turns at every direction keep you absolutely fascinated, and at no point does anything ever seem contrived or unbelievable.

It's an enthralling journey through a not-too-distant future, and with good acting all round will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Highly recommended.