A paranoid's paradise that is as much a hangout movie as it is a sci-fi puzzler with its roaming and creeping pace. I'd like to think Dick would find this film amusing, though I have not read the story. Few films are made like this today. A truly inspired cast all around. Downey Jr. in particular is cool as a cucumber. Makes for an interesting double-bill with Upstream Color.

"What does a scanner see? Into the head? Into the heart? Does it see into me? Clearly? Or darkly? "

That makes no sense, but I wanted to start with a quote like many people do.

A Scaner Darkly is one of my all time favourite films, but i can see why people find this film slow paced.

But in reality, it is an intelligent, beautiful and indeed unique looking movie. The cast is magical and the ending is superb. it is a twst that comes from nowhere. To me anyway.

Sunning film making, and I'd rate this is as pretty much essential viewing for any film fan.

I loved the pacing, and it only started confusing me in some parts in the last 20 minutes, but overall, it was an expertly paced, brilliantly characterised look at drug use in a unique world. Whilst some of it left me confused, it left me with the best type of confusion - the one that left me not wanting to look up explanations on wikipedia, but to watch it again, and make up my own mind. So whilst I may not have been smart enough to piece all the specifics together in my mind, I was still left with a sense of wonder from the beautifully crafted world, and a real connection to these (now) despicable characters, despite never experiencing drug use in my own life.

Watch this shit.

Recommended to me by Daryl.

I don't get it.
Do you have to be high on D to actually understand the concept? I mean, I sort of got it I think.. I think.. but what?
It's surprising to watch a film where Robert Downey Jr. did nothing but annoy the crap out of me right from the start. On the other hand, Woody Harrelson is fucking awesome! It's a strange world we live in.

For what it is, perfect. I've been skeptical of Linklater's rotoscoping in the past, but A Scanner Darkly is an ideal use. Hiring Reeves, Downey, Harrelson, and Rider to play paranoid addicts works well, unsurprisingly.

"How much do you do?"
"Not that much..."

I found it entertaining, but pretentious, it fails to connect on any emotional level, maybe because of the animation style, which I found often distracting, and you end up with quirky characters that work well on a scene by scene basis, but overall feel disjointed.

A truly unique movie, which is a unique blend of stoner hangout and sci-fi mystery. It looks like a comic, not only its graphic but it's cinematography and editing pace. The character performances and acting is also superb.

Does this animation style bring anything to the story telling of this film? I understand why Linklater used it in Waking Life. The movie was a dream, it needed to look dreamlike. But, here? The rotoscoping basically just serves to make a movie about drugs more "trippy." That's fine, I guess, though. It does look pretty awesome.

Anyway. The story is interesting enough. It loses steam near the end and gets a little tedious, but the 900 plot twists at the end get your attention, if only to cause slight confusion. The cast is great, though. RDJ and Woody Harrelson add a lot to characters that could have been pretty 1-note and cheesy.

Develops into an unsettling portrait of paranoia and the long-term effects of experimenting with drugs. The truest adaptation to film of any work by Philip K. Dick.

My brain hurts.

«What does a scanner see?»
Stāstiņš par nākotnes narkotikām, to apkarošanu, paranoju un savstarpējām attiecībām. Bet, johaidī, kas pa filmu! Un jābūt ar, jo noveles autors Filips Diks, uz ko balstīta šī filma, ir sarakstījis vēl tādus slavenus šedevrus, kas tapuši filmā, kā Blade Runner, Total Recall u.t.t. Filmas vizuālais risinājums diezgan interesants, jo animācija atgādināja man GTA spēļu vāciņus. Bet labi, ka tā, tai uzreiz piemīts savs šarms!
Šajā filmā bija viss, sākot ar aktieriem (Rīvzs, Dovnijs Jr., Harelsons, Raidere), jokiem (par velosipēdu ātrumiem bija vienkārši bomba) un beidzot ar oriģinālo sižetu un neparedzamajiem notikumu pavērsieniem.
Lai vai kā filma bija labi konstruēta, tēli labi veidoti, tik beigās tika kāpināts temps tik ļoti, ka daudz kas tika nesaprasts un sajūta, ka filma beigās tika aprauta, derēja vēl kādas ekstra 20 minūtes. Bet neskatoties uz to, filma viennozīmīgi ir manā favorītu sarakstā!

A paranoid's paradise that is as much a hangout movie as it is a sci-fi puzzler with its roaming and creeping pace. I'd like to think Dick would find this film amusing, though I have not read the story. Few films are made like this today. A truly inspired cast all around. Downey Jr. in particular is cool as a cucumber. Makes for an interesting double-bill with Upstream Color.

Was that animation technique really necessary for this? All it did was make me ill and I had to switch off ten minutes before the end.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.