| Total Reality (1998) Cast:David Bradley,Thomas Kretschmann David Bradley stars as a soldier on death sentence, who is sent back in time to stop a rebel from killing the leader of a cult, a cult that will rule in this future, along the way Bradley starts to question his mission and finds his humanity in the process in this downbeat but decent sci-fi action film. I must admit, that this film caught me on a bad day, however on rewatch, I found this far more interesting, especially for the fact that it was much different then it was advertised. However to be fair the movie does start out of not very well, in that the action sequences are pretty cheap, the futuristic look is dreary and the movie isn't all that impressive, however once Total Reality gets to the year 1998, and starts putting David Bradley going up against the bad guys, and indeed his change of heart, Total Reality works as a satisfying science fiction. There are of course some plotholes, the story has many sequences that contradict in paradoxes, but the movie refuses to end on a happy note and in fact the film pulls no punches with establishing what it is. What makes the character work and this is of course frightening is the really good performance from David Bradley. You wouldn't think so but he's good and of course his anti-hero's thoughts and changes are the heart of what make the movies work. The downbeat and open ending is what establishes this as Roth and Bradley's best effort and it deserves to be watched. D.Phillip Roth *** |