Robin Williams offers another of his underplayed, dour performances in this chilly, silly bit of sci-fi nonsense that, in contrast to the star's earlier film One Hour Photo, might be thought of as Seventy Years Footage. The premise: in the near future, parents can purchase for their unborn children a microchip implanted in the fetal ocular nerve that records every second of their lives. When a recipient dies, the footage is edited into a summary, and screened as a funeral eulogy. Williams plays a famed cutter--a strange, introverted fellow, haunted by an episode from his past--who accepts a commission to edit the film of a deceased executive of the company that markets the microchips. But there are skeletons in the man's cinematic closet, and a radical anti-chip group led by an ex-editor (Jim Caviezel, nearly as wooden as Williams) wants to use the revelations to discredit the procedure. The basic idea behind The Final Cut is absurd, its inherent inanities exacerbated by the torpid pacing and a misplaced sense of self-importance. In the end only one aphorism really seems apt: some things are indeed best forgotten--including this movie. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer/director Omar Naim, a 26-minute "making-of" featurette, featurettes on production design (6 min.) and special effects (5 min.), three deleted scenes (4 min.), two segments of “From Pre-Production to Screen: Storyboard and On-Set Footage Comparisons,” and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)
The Final Cut
Lions Gate, 105 min., PG-13, VHS: $49.98, DVD: $27.98, Mar. 22 Volume 20, Issue 2
The Final Cut
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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