Cypher (2002)

Following the Sci-Fi horror Cube (1997) Vincenzo Natali remained in the genre for his next directorial feature, 2002's Cypher. Morgan Sullivan appears to be a middle-aged man with life that he's utterly bored with and responds by becoming an international spy working for a mysterious and very secret company. Lucy Lui turns up as another spy who may or may not be trustworthy, and Morgan realises, unsurprisingly, that all is not as it seems.

While an improvement on Cube, a film that I never really got on board with despite its intriguing premise, Cypher never hits the heights that it might have done. It has similarities to the far superior Primer (2004) but doesn't share its invention or complex structure, and sometimes feels like a lesser Philip K. Dick adaptation, although it's certainly a more interesting film than John Woo's Paycheck (2003).

There are also obvious resemblances to The Matrix (1999) which seems an unfair comparison, but I offer it because it reminded me somewhat of Equilibrium (2002), a film that drew contrasts with the Wachowski's masterpiece but held its own rather well.

Natali has mainly offered his services to T.V including episodes of Hannibal and Westworld, and that might be where he produces his best work. Cypher is an enjoyable Sci-Fi B-movie, but not a huge amount more than that. 6.0/10