All time favorite sci-fi movie EVER!
Sorry to be so pathetic, I just happen to love this movie, one of my fave sci-fi movies and normally I don't watch sci-fi movies, so it's a rarity for me to like sci-fi like this.
-Made in 1992
-Directed by Geoff Murphy
-Stars Emilio Estevez, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Mick Jagger
-When released in the US, it got mainly bad reviews
-Was adapted from the 1959 sci-fi novel Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley
-Aside from the concept of a modern man being sent into the future where anything is up for sale and there is the presence of a 'spiritual switchboard' in which souls are trapped, this movie bears little to no resemblance to the novel, where it was discovered that there was scientific proof of the afterlife altering the society's views on life
Did You Know?
-During the time this movie was being filmed, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall were married. And in the movie, there is a scene that shows Mick and Jerry almost together. When Jerry's reporter character is interviewing Alex in a nightclub, Mick's character Vacendak is watching intently on the TV, watching someone who in real life at the time was his wife acting.
Plot
-In the year 2009, the multi millionaires can acquire immortality by hiring "bonejackers", basically mercenaries who use extensive time travel equipment technology, to grab people from the past just before their deaths. Those who escape the bonejackers are deemed "freejacks", and are considered to be the lowest rung on the human social ladder. The film is set in a dismal dystopic future where health problems plague practically everyone, from poor physical health from drug use, and environmental pollution, making them useless as replacements.
-Alex Furlong(Emilio Estevez) is a professional race car driver who is just about to die in a 1991 car crash, right in front of his fiancee Julie Redlund(Rene Russo) and his agent Brad(David Johansen), when suddenly, out of the blue, a time machine grabs him from the cockpit of his car just as he crashes and into 21st century Bronx, New York, which looks like a deserted wasteland. When Furlong's captors- led by a hardened but honorable mercenary named Victor Vacendak(Mick Jagger)- are ambushed by a hit squad. Furlong is able to escape and is confused by what is going on. When he tries to find Julie, he finds she is no longer at her 1991 address. He takes shelter at a local church, where he is found by a sympathetic nun who is armed with a shotgun(Amanda Plummer). She explains to him what happened. She also provides him with clothing, food and a small handgun.
-Alex is able to track down his former agent Brad to ask him for help, but he sells out Alex for the reward and is killed in the process. He tracks down Julie, who he finds out works for a company called McCandless Inc. She calls security on him, thinking he is not the Alex she knows. Vacendak shows up, and that's when she realizes that Alex is who he says he is. She goes to Ian McCandless(Anthony Hopkins) himself to ask for help in getting Furlong out of New York, McCandless promises to help. Unfortunately, the escape is a trap- Vacendak and his squad try to once again get Alex, but he manages to escape them and holds Vacendak at gunpoint. Alex demands to know who wants him so badly. Vacendak finally surrenders and tells him that the person who wants his body is none other than Ian McCandless, Julie's boss. Because Alex saved his life before, Vacendak gives him a chance to run, and Julie steals one of Vacendak's armored tanks to get away.
-Furlong and Julie are able to escape VacendakMcCandless Corporation cops, but they also have to deal with private guards of McCandless' corporate X.O Mr. Michellete(Jonathan Banks), who is desperately after McCandless' job. He was the one who was behind Alex's first initial escape. Alex then pretends to hold Julie hostage and makes a deal with Michelette to arrange a meeting with him. He hopes they don't know about the couple's past relationship, but it turns out that Michelette has already seen the footage of Julie's pain and grief after Furlong's death after his 1991 accident. Julie is immediately fired on the spot, thinking he will get the top position as top executive. Alex and Julie escape the meeting, only to be caught in a gunfight between the guards and Vacendak's mercenaries.
-The elevator they take ends up taking them to the top floor of the building, where there is a spiritual switchboard where McCandless' mind is. A virtual reality hologram of McCandless explains why he wanted Furlong's body: so he could show his love for Julie. Apologizing, he offers Alex the chance to run the company while pretending to be him. But Vacendak arrives, McCandless reveals he was stalling. Alex, forced into performing the mind transplant, declares "You don't need a new body, you need a new soul, and your machine can't give you that!" Just when the transfer begins, Michelette stumbles in, wounded from fighting with Vacendak's men. In all the chaos, Julie grabs a soldier's gun and shoots the crystal performing the transplant. The crystal shatters, rendering the transplant inconclusive since no one knows if McCandless has control on the computers. The scientists present conclude that McCandless will have to identify himself. Michelette agrees, revealing that only McCandless would know his own personal I.D. code, something Alex would obviously not know. Vacendak receives a handheld computer which shows McCandless' code- he instructs "Alex" to tell him what it is.
-Alex responds by saying the code slowly and clearly, and Vacendak asks him to continue. Michelette concludes that that transfer took and tries to kill Alex, but Vacendak guns him down along with his men. Furlong asks Julie to change into something more beautiful. Soon, Furlong and Julie take one of McCandless' cars for a drive. They are stopped by Vacendak and his team as the car leaves the estate. Vacendak reveals that the transfer was not complete, and that it was still Alex, but Ian McCandless could not drive, and Alex did not get the code right, so Victor lied for him. He simply waited for Alex to make a mistake and he did: McCandless doesn't know how to drive. Vacendak tells Julie, flashing a smile "You'll have to coach him better than that" and after withdrawing his men, the 2 drive away.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Emilio Estevez | Alex Furlong |
| Mick Jagger | Victor Vacendak |
| Rene Russo | Julie Redlund |
| Anthony Hopkins | Ian McCandless |
| Jonathan Banks | Mark Michelette |
| David Johansen | Brad |
| Grand L. Bush | Boone |
| John Shea | Morgan |
| Frankie Faison | Homeless man |
| Esai Morales | Ripper |
| Jerry Hall | Newswoman |
| Amanda Plummer | Nun |
| Jeff Scordino | Camera Man |
