Review of Strange Days (1995)
Los Angeles in the last, dark days of 1999. A new technology, practically identical to the tapes of Brainstorm (1983) or William Gibson’s “simstim”, allows human sensoria to be easily recorded and reexperienced by others. It is in fairly wide use on the American black market. A slick and miserable ex-cop who’s still in love with his old girlfriend sells it. At first, the frantic appearance of a mutual acquaintance is mainly an excuse to talk to the old girlfriend again, but a secret that could mean racist war insists on spreading, and a psycho killer is on the loose.
A cyberpunk epic that limps long distances. It is an impressive effort in the genre, though exaggerated in some respects, particularly the street scenes.