This movie is just plain weird, with the main character always dreaming that he’s pursuing a woman. It’s totally fantastical with him flying around looking like an angel and fighting a huge samurai-looking bad guy. Robert Deniro makes an appearance, but it’s only in a bit part.
The beginning has a man named Buttle being mistaken for a wanted man named Tuttle. Because of a paperwork snafu, he winds up being “deleted” – they allude that he was tortured and executed. This is eerily reminisent of the feeling today, where at the airport they have the “Do Not Fly” list which is based totally on supposed terrorist names.
The movie has some very funny parts, like how you need a form filled out, signed, and stamped before anything can happen. Bureaucratic process is definitely taken to it’s satiric exaggerated height.
There were some places where the drama was very strong. The part with the lady screaming “where is my husband’s body?” is absolutely haunting. That image will be stuck in my head for a long time.
I definitely didn’t like the blatant rip-off of situations from 1984, which is also about a dystopian future, and one of my favorite books of all time. For instance: the main character working for the evil government; him falling in love and then getting arrested (sorry for the spoiler); his subsequent interrogation.
Overall, I just didn’t find it all that entertaining. I would take a pass on this if I had a “do over.”