Unbelievably boring, trite, moronic, it tries to be an intellectual scifi movie a-la equally tedious Solaris, but fails miserably. There are far too many plot holes and just plain silly events. For instance, they constantly talk about "losing cover" as if it meant that the person is without state-sponsored global insurance. The movie is deliberately vague on this point, supposedly to ferment discussion. Could it be that the person is disenfranchised and cast out into the desert? Or does it mean that the ozone layer has depleted and those living outside of cities have no protection, hence no cover? Who cares? The movie made a big point of showing Robbins arriving in Shanghai during the day, noting through the voice-over that no one arrives during the day. There are no cars on the Expressway, and no one is on the streets, thereby implying that one cannot survive in the daylight. Robbins also has to dim his hotel-room windows immediately upon arrival. The city-dwellers are portrayed as middle and upper-classmen whilst the desert-dwellers are all poverty stricken. There is even a scene when Robbins and Morton are shown running at dawn with a coat over their heads protecting themselves from the emerging sun's supposedly harmful rays. Yet later on, one whole day later, they are prancing about in bright sunshine at an open air market, living free, outside the city. The movie continually contradicted itself.
****** POTENTIAL SPOILERS *******
A Code 46 is an anti-incest law born of the need after in-vitro fertilization (test tube babies) becomes the norm. It is almost totally immaterial to the plot. Robbins sleeps with Morton, she gets pregnant, and literally that night is forced to have an abortion when a Code 46 violation is announced. Robbins finds out she has the same genes as his mother, which simply means she was created in a test tube from his mother's DNA. So what?
That's it! That is the end of the Code 46 issues! There is no drama, no big brother, nothing. They run off into the desert, continue their incestuous affair for one night, and get tracked down by the Code 46 police.
She is cast out, he is brain-washed, end of movie. BORING! Also, the voice over notes that she is allowed to keep her memory of the events, because the government doesn't care about what occurs outside of "cover". So why did they suddenly care that a Code 46 violation occurred out in the desert? Supposedly, all those people are Code 46 violators! Yet Morton is given a virus which forces her to report herself. It doesn't make sense, they can't have it both ways.
A few more points. The voice over was terrible, seemingly added as an afterthought. Morton and Robbins have no screen chemistry at all, none, zero. He just looks bored throughout. He supposedly falls in love with her after a single 5-minute interview. Right... He follows her, beds her, and then splits to his wife and kid. One night stand. Until his company forces him to go back because he didn't do his job. Then suddenly he gets all wishy-washy telling her he loves her when he is back in Shanghai. Yawn. He was never planning to go back, why the sudden change in his emotions?
Robbins has an "empathy virus" which allows him to determine who the guilty party is. That is what he is paid for. Seems simply enough, why fly in an expert if anyone can take the virus and become like him? Why don't more people know about the virus, instead they are all impressed with his password-guessing game except at the clinic in the desert which employs an "anti-empathy virus virus". What???? Why doesn't every company employ that? Seems like people can take viruses to immeasurably improve their lives (Morton took a Mandarin virus and spoke fluent Mandarin!!). Stupid.
The problems with this movie go on and on. They even tried to employ a little gratuitous nudity with a beaver-shot that added nothing to the plot, but garnered the picture an R rating. Without that 2-second shot, it would have been rated Family since nothing happens during the entire movie.
Boring, tedious, full of plot holes, pretentious, and a waste of time.
****** POTENTIAL SPOILERS *******
A Code 46 is an anti-incest law born of the need after in-vitro fertilization (test tube babies) becomes the norm. It is almost totally immaterial to the plot. Robbins sleeps with Morton, she gets pregnant, and literally that night is forced to have an abortion when a Code 46 violation is announced. Robbins finds out she has the same genes as his mother, which simply means she was created in a test tube from his mother's DNA. So what?
That's it! That is the end of the Code 46 issues! There is no drama, no big brother, nothing. They run off into the desert, continue their incestuous affair for one night, and get tracked down by the Code 46 police.
She is cast out, he is brain-washed, end of movie. BORING! Also, the voice over notes that she is allowed to keep her memory of the events, because the government doesn't care about what occurs outside of "cover". So why did they suddenly care that a Code 46 violation occurred out in the desert? Supposedly, all those people are Code 46 violators! Yet Morton is given a virus which forces her to report herself. It doesn't make sense, they can't have it both ways.
A few more points. The voice over was terrible, seemingly added as an afterthought. Morton and Robbins have no screen chemistry at all, none, zero. He just looks bored throughout. He supposedly falls in love with her after a single 5-minute interview. Right... He follows her, beds her, and then splits to his wife and kid. One night stand. Until his company forces him to go back because he didn't do his job. Then suddenly he gets all wishy-washy telling her he loves her when he is back in Shanghai. Yawn. He was never planning to go back, why the sudden change in his emotions?
Robbins has an "empathy virus" which allows him to determine who the guilty party is. That is what he is paid for. Seems simply enough, why fly in an expert if anyone can take the virus and become like him? Why don't more people know about the virus, instead they are all impressed with his password-guessing game except at the clinic in the desert which employs an "anti-empathy virus virus". What???? Why doesn't every company employ that? Seems like people can take viruses to immeasurably improve their lives (Morton took a Mandarin virus and spoke fluent Mandarin!!). Stupid.
The problems with this movie go on and on. They even tried to employ a little gratuitous nudity with a beaver-shot that added nothing to the plot, but garnered the picture an R rating. Without that 2-second shot, it would have been rated Family since nothing happens during the entire movie.
Boring, tedious, full of plot holes, pretentious, and a waste of time.