Virtuosity

"Justice needs a new program."

1995 1h 46m EN

😐

5.5

MID

★5.5TMDB · 640

ActionCrimeScience FictionThriller

Synopsis

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The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) has developed SID version 6.7: a Sadistic, Intelligent, and Dangerous virtual reality entity which is synthesized from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers, and only one man can stop him.

“Justice needs a new program.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Denzel Washington
Parker Barnes
Russell Crowe
Sid 6.7
Kelly Lynch
Madison Carter
Alanna Ubach
Ella
William Forsythe
William Cochran
Stephen Spinella
Lindenmeyer
Louise Fletcher
Elizabeth Deane
William Fichtner
Wallace

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brett Leonard
Writers: Eric Bernt
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 80% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brett Leonard, shot by Gale Tattersall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christopher Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor B.J. Sears shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and Kelly Lynch carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Justice needs a new program.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0114857 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brett Leonard directs. Gale Tattersall behind the camera. Christopher Young scores. B.J. Sears cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 80% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
231 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Brett Leonard, shot by Gale Tattersall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Christopher Young. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor B.J. Sears shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and Kelly Lynch carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Justice needs a new program.".
8IMDB entry: tt0114857 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "android", "artificial intelligence (a.i.)", "computer program", "video game".
10Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gale Tattersall
Original score: Christopher Young
Editing: B.J. Sears
Production design: Nilo Rodis-Jamero
Costume design: Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
Makeup / hair: Chris Walas
VFX supervisor: Jon Townley
Sound: Rick Alexander
Stunt coordinator: John C. Meier
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $24,048,000
Return: 80% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Virtuosity (1995)

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Brett Leonard

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What people are saying

Kamurai2021-01-21
★ 8/10
Great watch, would watch again, and can recommend. While this is a trip in the way back machine, I think this going to remain a favorite of mine. Akin to "Back to the Future", seeing what people thought the future would be 20 years ago is really interesting, and what's more is that we've pushed boundaries where something like this movie could happen. We're probably still (2021) a ways away from digital silicone DNA, we're creating robots that are more and more life-capable and could have A.I. loaded into them to run a muck. It's an interesting mix of sci-fi, action, and true crime style entertainment that I think should hold interest for most audiences.
tmdb766221952025-05-12
★ 4/10
Three Oscar winners- Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Louise Fletcher- are completely wasted in this high tech shoot-'em-up. Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington) is a cop convicted of murder and serving time. He becomes a guinea pig in some virtual reality testing involving capturing SID 6.7, a computer combination of over 200 criminals. SID's evil programmer releases SID (Russell Crowe) into the real world, and Barnes is released long enough to track him down. He must also drag along Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch), who spends most of her screen time trying to keep up with Barnes. Barnes finds out SID is also programmed with the behavior of the man really responsible for Barnes' family's demise, making the entire thing "personal." Carter's daughter is kidnapped by SID, and the finale takes place during a live TV/internet broadcast in a high rise building. Louise Fletcher is not given anything to do as an executive with the company that created SID. Crowe has the right physical look, but the screenwriter unwisely gave SID a bunch of unfunny one liners to utter during all the mayhem. A mass killer has not made this many stupid comments since the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. Washington, trying to corner the market on 1990's serial killer trackers (see also "Fallen" and "The Bone Collector"), is okay as the killing cop. He tries to turn this into more than an action film, but his character is not there. Brett Leonard, of "The Lawnmower Man" and the bad "Hideaway," finally finds another movie to use his trademark computer special effects in. The effects are okay, but are constantly undermined and drowned out by all the bloodshed. The screenwriter makes bad plot decisions just so he can move his story along, not because they make sense- SID's programmer releases SID because he is mad. SID can regenerate himself with glass, SID is not really drawn to any of the other real-life killers he has been programmed with, just the one Barnes has flashbacks about. I thought SID would be like a superhuman serial killer, leaving other real life killers' clues in his path, but we get a passing Charles Manson mention, and that is it. There is more broken glass in this film than "Another 48 HRS", the previous broken glass film champion. Some fun almost comes in the climax, as Barnes pursues SID, and in turn is pursued by the cops for a crime SID framed him for. The film is ten minutes too long, as we must sit through Carter's daughter's scenes, which feels tacked on to the end. Yes, the computer effects are pretty good. Crowe is as good as he can be considering the script, but Leonard does not build any momentum in his direction. His camera is everywhere, but he wastes his talents on a screenplay that lumbers toward inevitability in every scene. In the climax, as SID takes over a TV broadcast to kill on the air, we see the viewership increase- one medium telling me how awful another medium is. I do not need a violent film to tell me there is too much violence on TV and the internet. That would be like a porn actress telling me women are used as sexual objects in strip clubs. Take away all the bells and whistles, and carnage and explosions, and you have an average film dressed up with a good cast.