The Thirteenth Floor

December 10, 2004

Rated: R Runtime: 100 min Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

(Note to self, when a movie preview shows a special effects shot that looks like a laser show reject, don’t expect much from the movie.)

Uninspired. That’s the single word that comes to mind after seeing this film. The Thirteenth Floor ventures into the same territory as The Matrix in asking the question “What is reality?” but does so in a much less ambitious way.

The story centers around Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko), a computer programmer involved in creating a virtual reality program designed to replicate 1930’s Las Angeles. When Douglas’ boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl as Hannon Fuller) turns up the victim of a brutal murder, Douglas is considered the prime suspect as he inherits control of the company. We are also introduced to the daughter, Jane Fuller (Gretchen Mol) who is a bit of a mystery as Douglas did not know his boss had any children.

Seems that Douglas is having memory lapses and maybe he did kill his former boss. He does have bloody clothes at his house after all. The possible solution is a message that Hannon left for Douglas inside the virtual world they created, so Douglas enters the system in search of the answers.

The search for this message, and the revelation received in it once found is the crux of the movie. Unfortunately most movie watchers will have figured out the ending well before the characters in the movie do.

Not all is bad in the movie, and the premise is actually rather interesting, but the execution just didn’t work for me. Maybe this would have seemed better if it hadn’t come out after The Matrix… but probably not.

Posted by John | Filed Under 2 Stars, Action, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Craig Bierko, Dennis Haysbert, Gretchen Mol, R, SciFi, Theatrical, Vincent D'Onofrio