It is the total and convincing immersion in a future world that makes this one of the strongest science fiction films I've ever seen.
That is a bold statement I know, but for me it is a fact, it just took me a while to realise it. See, the first time I saw it I was distracted by the meandering third act in which the plot drudgingly treads towards its excpected resolution.
And while that problem still exists I was struck this time by two things. For a film that is almost 15 years old it still looks absolutely stunning and it does what any film in this genre should do. It takes away all suspension of disbelief by presenting…