GATTACA  ***
**1/2 stars for being reasonably suspenseful, and 1/2 star for being,
thankfully, one of the rare science fiction movies made for adults.
The human touch represented by the doctor near the end was quite moving,
set as it was in a rather inhumane world.
The one downer was the really deadpan closing moments. The statement by
our hero was rather fitting, and clearly the producers wanted a movie
that had merit not based upon special effects, but gee, this fellow was
realizing a goal he had gone through hell to achieve. To have them
sitting in business suits, like so many useless bits of cargo in an
automatic ship, deadened our realization of his dream considerably.
After the doctor's uplifting show of humanity, we needed an astronaut,
face glowing in pleasure, and at least one external, magnificent shot of
his vehicle raising from the earth in a crescendo of music and rocket
roar. Such a shot, with a voice-over of his "star stuff" statement,
would have added to the glow we got from the doctor's action, and
helped lift us all from the hell below. Instead, we're left with a
sneaking suspicion that things will be as bad above as they were below.
I never thought Ethan Hawke would amount to a hill of beans, but this
picture shows that he has what it takes. A fine performance. And Uma
Thurman was, as usual, a wonderful piece of eye candy that can act.
****
Despite the topicality of the genetic engineering, I really doubt that
the scenario as seen in the film will ever be a major problem. Dogs, for
example, have been bred for certain attributes, for thousands of years,
but these animals tend to be rather specialized. The best mutts, wihout
specialization, still beat the breeds in overall abilities every time,
including intelligence. While I'm all for going ahead with the
experiment of genetically engineering humans (just to see where it
goes), I just don't think the results will be all that some envision.
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 X SLMR 2.1a X Yay! No tagline!
--- Maximus 3.01
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