Sick Product of a Sick System

Best movie ever!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

IMPOSTOR is an easy viewing science fiction action thriller starring the underrated Gary Sinise, one of my favourite "those guy" actors after his fine performances in the likes of RANSOM. It's another film based on a story by Philip K. Dick and like TOTAL RECALL and BLADE RUNNER it has an ambiguous central character whose identity will keep you guessing throughout.The plot is so straightforward that it can be condensed into a single sentence: the authorities think Gary Sinise is an alien android come to destroy Earth, he thinks he's innocent. As with those other two films mentioned, the whole film keeps you guessing as to Sinise's real identity right until the worthwhile climax, which doesn't disappoint. The rest follows the low budget action template with a lot of chases, some dodgy CGI effects, and a generally good sense of momentum.Sinise is supported by able actors even if they aren't given a great deal to do. Madeleine Stowe is his wife, Vinceint D'Onofrio the vengeful cop on his tail. Mekhi Phifer gives a good turn as the ally he teams up with to fight back against those oppressing him. The action scenes suffer from some average to poor camera-work, and there's some odd use of stock footage from earlier sci-fi movies like STARSHIP TROOPERS, but otherwise this is generally watchable stuff, although not in the same league as TOTAL RECALL or BLADE RUNNER.

For some reason, this film never got billed in my local cinemas at the time. I only watched it now because I was checking for a Philip K Dick adaptation I hadn't seen and this was the only one remaining for me to see.The plot is wonderfully twisty - no way of guessing the ending either, so I won't spoil that!Plenty of action, although perhaps more could have been done to make the chase sequences more original. Also the score didn't do much for me. Nevertheless, as a sci fi film, it's well worth watching - ranks high in the list of Philip K Dick masterpieces like Bladerunner, Total Recall, Minority Report etc.

All of the other reviews I read said that this was good. Or at least, OK. I literally had to "skip" through bits as I found it so awful. Gary Sinise's acting is appalling. His "face" acting is laughable. NEVER did I believe that he was his character, with his Lieutenant Dan face on permanently. Vincent D'Onofrio's acting is only slightly better. But his character is so clichéd and ott, it was probably hard for him to add too much to it? ACTUALLY, I can't recall anyone acting well throughout this whole movie. Also, I cannot believe that this was EVER going to be a major release movie!? It looks like, and played like a 1990's straight to video movie. The movie did not draw me in AT ALL. And I didn't care who was an impostor or not. The whole film was dire. And I cannot get the time back that I wasted watching it.

Based on a K.Dick 's short story ,a writer who was fascinated by false doubles.The first story I had read by him was "the father-thing" where a boy discovered his father had been "changed" :it scared me to death."Impostor" is more of the same.An Earthman who might be an Alien.The combination of stunning visual effects ,Gary Sinise's great talent and Madeleine Stowe's beauty is quite awesome at times.It's only when the story turns to a banal chase with the usual quota of violence -and I do not even mention an unbearable scene of torture- that a sense of disappointment pervades.How absorbing the movie could have been ,had the director focused on the husband-and-wife relationship (with such first-class actors such as Sinise and Stowe ,it would have been a winner)!the finale is admittedly surprising enough,but without any "psychological" side ,it does not make much sense.