Reviews

Note: I do love a good spy/detective thriller (Jussi Adler-Olsen, Jo Nesbo, George Simenon, John le Carré & Ian Fleming) . Sadly, this barely qualifies. First ... What is up with the actors?! I had high hopes, seeing who was involved as producers and writers and the director ... maybe, FINALLY, a decent cast of diverse racial faces? Didn't happen .... a couple of token "black" actors + two white female wannabes - 1 Scarlet Johannsen and 1 Sharon Stone (even down to the ubiquitous bra-&-panties moment!!). Some of the acting is so leaden and 2-D. There are some good moments, but one has to have the patience of Job to experience them. The writing? Banal at best, insipid at the worst - too much emotionalism, too little gritty reality. Ah well, guess this is what we are in store for more of when our educational system refuses to teach languages other than English (and even there, HUGE gaps is what is proper and correct!), "The Classics" (including Latin + Greek for training the mind in logic, allegory and symbolism, and cursive writing (which engages and trains the creative part of the brain). Truly, this script seems written by AI after being fed a basic list of "ingredients". Unfortunately, CYPHER lacks any real "spice" and leaves a bit of a sour taste in this reviewer's mouth.

While there was great potential here for a very intriguing thriller and horror story, it fell apart with some really poor writing, editing and directing choices - and just purely unbelievable, at times, particularly in nearly all of the story-driving relationships. Now, while horror films do ask us to suspend our disbelief, oftentimes to great extremes, this one expects us to shatter our belief systems entirely in order to accept the progression of things that happen. What did I love about this film? The 'evil' spirit! Some great artistry and film technique used here in presenting it. Kudos. Second, the background of the roots of tattooing (tatauing). Would very much liked to have seen a little more, but from what the film presents about the very spiritual aspect of this art, it is understandable. Then, Jason Behr did his best to pull of a believable title character. Sadly more than a couple of the other actors fail at this. Poor casting, poor acting or just poor directing??? You decide if you watch it.

Where the French take a bit of a laissez-faire approach to films of a sexual theme, the Germans can almost always be sure to approach it from the philosophical. That said, if you are going into this very appropriately-titled film expecting lots of skin or your typical American gay film, you will be much disappointed. The center of this slowly evolving drama is a love triangle. There is not a lot of dialogue, but for me, because of the deftness of the acting and direction, the characters do become fully developed and realized people by the stunning and brilliant ending. There are also some brilliantly incorporated views of the city. An interesting watch.