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07/15/06
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
67
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:166
Fresh:112
Rotten:54
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: A faithful adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel, A Scanner Darkly takes the viewer on a visual and mind-blowing journey into the author's conception of a drug-addled and politically unstable world.
Theatrical Release:18-08-2006
Synopsis: Richard Linklater's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's classic novel is a challenging, mind-bending experience that cautions about the dangers of excessive drug use as well as the government's capacity... [More]
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey, Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder
Director: Richard Linklater
Reviews for A Scanner Darkly
An interesting idea, with which almost nothing is done.
07/15/06
Impressive and daring. Downey channels James Woods, Harrelson freaks out, Reeves holds the center, and Ryder should have stayed home.
07/14/06
The fake cartooning sets up a challenging distance between the viewers and the characters, bringing a degree of nonreality to something that's already hard to believe.
07/14/06
Dick does not share Linklater's decency and humanism ... and the cynical, hopeless characters in Scanner sit uncomfortably with Linklater's natural sensibility.
07/14/06
Linklater's willingness to experiment ... is laudable. But I'm not sure he's reinventing animation here, or even adequately serving that older-than-children animation audience.
07/14/06
Linklater and Dick at their best are about as good as it gets. If their fusion didn't, finally, create gold, riches are still to be found in it.
07/14/06
Though chunks of the novel are missing, the film is, for the most part, a creatively and metaphorically successful synthesis of Dick's dreamlike themes and real-world concerns.
07/14/06
A Scanner Darkly has virtually no action and is so slow to reveal itself that it dissipates whatever dramatic clout the novel may have had.
07/14/06
The first film to capture the author's transience and his art.
07/14/06
Here's a guy willing to take risks, willing to tackle challenging material, willing to assume his audience has a brain. Unfortunately, his audience's collective brain is going to be hurting mightily for the first hour of this film.
07/14/06
Although the story is greatly enhanced by the mesmerizing visual design, it is also involving because of the duplicity and duality of the characters.
07/14/06
Those unfamiliar with the book will probably be confused. And the film's statements about addiction and the drug wars aren't exactly subtle.
07/14/06
The movie doesn't so much involve you in a story as it invades your mind, creating a world ruled by anxiety and suspicion.
07/14/06
The artiness gets in the way of thrilling plot twists; we're still trying to sort out images when we should be sorting out facts.
07/14/06
As the drugs keep cranking the gears of suspicion, seducing them down syllogistic corridors of absurd reasoning, you can feel them out-thinking their own paranoia to the brink of insanity.
07/14/06
Casting Reeves was a minor stroke of genius: Arctor could be the mundane identity that Neo discovers after his adventures in un-reality -- the hangover after the epic trip of 'The Matrix.'
07/14/06
The story itself becomes schizoid, splitting between a convoluted detective mystery and lazy conversations between paranoid addicts.
07/14/06
It's a great looking film and the destination is worthy, but the journey leaves you wanting something more.
07/14/06
This effort, while a failure, is an artsy, noble one. Scanning optimistically, an innovator can learn and move forward from that.
07/14/06
Latest News for A Scanner Darkly
January 09, 2007:
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Hosted right here at the illustrious Rotten Tomatoes is the official website of the Online Film Critics Society, an international group of flick analyzers who put their heads... More...
August 31, 2006:
A Taste of What's "Next" for Nicolas Cage
Any time I hear the phrase "movie based on a Philip K. Dick story," I know I have to do a little more research. The next PKD adaptation is Lee Tamahori's... More...
August 08, 2006:
Paul Giamatti to Star as Philip K. Dick
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July 24, 2006:
Box Office Wrapup: "Pirates" Passes $300M; "Lady" Stumbles
Johnny Depp made this weekend's four new releases walk the plank as his megablockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest became the first film of the year to spend... More...
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