Wonderful character development!

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Crappy film

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

As anyone who has watched enough television would know, pilots are always a mixed bag. Some pilots are great, some are bad, and some are just plain odd. However, very few are as fascinating as Virtuality. Produced by Battlestar Gallatica showrunner Ronald D. Moore and directed by the sometimes great Peter Berg, Virtuality was made in 2009 as a potential series for the Fox Network. For reasons that are unknown, Fox made the decision to not pick the show up for a series but still aired what was done as a pilot movie. It was later released on DVD with no bonus features or any indication of what the future of the series held. Having watched the DVD for the first time tonight, I was amazed at just how well thought out and realized the production was for a pilot. Despite obvious loose ends, this is something that could have been re-worked as either a mini-series or television series. I don't know what the budget was for the pilot, but there was nothing about the pilot that looked cheap. The special effects, set design, and cinematography all looked as good, if not better, than most feature films released by major studios. This is clearly the best thing Peter Berg has ever directed, about on par with Very Bad Things. Although certainly not a dark comedy like Very Bad Things was, Virtuality also focuses on the dark side of human nature and does it well without seeming preachy or overly philosophical. In the beginning, the idea that entire ship is being recorded for a reality television show is pushed a bit too hard. The reality television set up could have been done in a minute instead of five to ten minutes, but the idea that reality television is exploitive and brings out the worst in people is handled with a lot more subtly than one might expect. If I had to guess, the commentary on reality television probably alienated Fox, the network that has aired some of the most notorious reality shows of all time which led to the decision not to produce Virtuality as a series. As it stands, Virtuality remains one of the best pilots of the past decade, a visually impressive and smart science fiction gem that will likely develop a small cult following one day. 8/10

There is a quirk in the virtual reality simulation system of a long duration space craft which seems to be attacking the crew. This is a sci-fi with quality production values and a solid cast but it never gets where it needs to go. There is a lot of time developing the characters and scene setting but the story arc is utterly incomplete. I think some of the other reviews have mentioned that this was supposed to act as a pilot for a TV series that never got picked up and it really feels that way because nothing gets resolved. There is a bunch of questions on the table at the end but no resolution, which is immensely frustrating.This is nice to watch and not badly acted but in the end leaves a very sour taste for the incompleteness and lack of resolution.

Well, did Fox asked Arthur C. Clark (oh, because is no longer with us, rest in peace!) to make this movie? Because instead of HAL we have a Jean and so on except the story base. And this kind of boring documentary type and journal kind of movie it's not really digestible... The act is interesting, landscape and images are great but, that's it... And who send a bunch of people at those early ages in spaces? With a budget of 200 bill dollars I couldn't send people who swear and fight every time... I thought that a cosmonaut or someone who was sent in this kind of journey is more serious and can deal with own fears and is disciplined and so on... This scenario was write with legs , sort of speak in my country... So, to cut the criticism, the scenario it's very bad, it has a lot of influences from every SF book and movie that guy read and seen and no scientific background. Very bad movie...

Several people have said they think it's odd/brave/lame/otherwise that the main character dies in the end and we'll never see him again. What in the world gave you that idea? Seems to me he will/would likely be a recurring character in the series, but only appear in the virtual world (as he did in the very end). Of course, who knows with this plot if he's really really dead even...but even supposing he is gone i don't think he's gone from the show (again, if they even make a show out of it).Great little movie. I wanted a bit more at the end but a series would do the trick too.Go here to vote for the series: http://virtuality-TV.info/Renewal/