Good Will Hunting is WIlliams' best role; this is his second best; not bad company. Sam Neill is better in this film than any other as well. Oliver Platt is better in this film than any other. When you get three performances of three good actors at the top of their game, you are bound to have a good film. Oh, wait; this is the best Issac Asimov story of all time, and the music, even though it sounds pretty much like the sound track from The Mission, is one of the better film scores of the year. The special effects, cinematography, and supporting cast are all first-rate. But the script is what really makes the film. There are lines of dialogue that will choke you up (if your human), and other lines that will have you laughing out loud. Chris Columbus is a very good director, and with a script like this, it must have been a pleasure making this film. How it did not win Best Picture of the Year instead of American Beauty is beyond my comprehension. How ironic that 20 years after this film was made, people are looking to become immortal with body and body part replacements. They should view this film. Immortality sounds like a great idea (especially when you are dying from something), but the film shows us without preaching how this is not the best idea for humans. You stay alive while some of your loved ones die? If everyone is immortal then the planet will not be able to sustain itself. What if your son or daughter did not want to opt for immortality? You would have the pleasure of watching them grow old and die before you; talk about a guilt trip. We are humans trying to become robots, and the robots want to become humans. There is some irony in that as well. This film only reinforces my belief that robots are potentially superior to mankind; they do not lie, cheat, steal, or kill (unless programmed to do so by mankind). They can be kind, understanding, sensitive, funny, and more humane than most humans. A film ahead of its time.
Review of Bicentennial Man
