Impostor is one of the lesser known stories by the master of Science Fiction, Philip K. Dick. It is so unknown, that one of his biggest fans, didn't even realize that this film was based on a story by Dick, until I saw it in the credits. As usual, the story is out of this world, as it takes place in the distance future, a future where the Earth is at war with an alien species. This species has the ability to clone humans in such a realistic way, that it is nearly impossible to detect them. Special military investigator, Hathaway (Vincent D'Onofrio), is tasked with figuring out who has been replaced. On the eve of a big announcement by the President, Hathaway intercepts a transmission claiming that her top military adviser, Dr. Spencer Olham (Gary Sinise), has been replaced. When Hathaway confronts Olham, he claims to have no knowledge of this, and unlike previous replicates, he has memories. As Hathaway prepares to eliminate Olham, he escapes to the surface, where he teams up with the exiled citizens who live there. Together they try to prove Olham's innocence, while avoiding being captured by Hathaway. Vincent D'Onofrio stars as Hathaway, and much like his role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent his intensity and determination are infectious. He's paired with Gary Sinise, an actor I'm always disappointed to see in a leading role, and whom always manages to surprise me with a great performance. He isn't what I'd call an action star, and may not have been ideal for the role of Olham, but he was very believable. Impostor was only one of Dick's short stories, but it is every bit as good as his better known works, which of course include; Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report. If you want to see a unique story that blends Science Fiction, Drama, and Action, look no further than Impostor.

In the future, an alien race uses androids as bombs to attack Earth. A government weapons specialist (Gary Sinise) is accused of being one such android and sets out to prove his innocence.James Berardinelli wrote that "Impostor wears out its welcome by the half-hour mark, and doesn't do anything to stir things up until the climax. You could spend the entire midsection of this movie in the bathroom and not miss much." Keith Phipps echoes this, saying "it essentially uses the setup of (the story) as a bookend to one long, dull chase scene." This is about right. I was drawn in early, but by halfway had gone from excited to bored... whether the protagonist was innocent or not was not something I cared about.

I tried watching this film, but instead had it on the background as I found it cliché on a number of levels. A future Earth is in the throes of a military conflict with another world; Alpha Centauri, and the methods of war know no rules; all's fair in love and war, as the saying goes. When conventional means and methods fail to breach Earth defenses, more subtlety is called for.I had a hard time with this film because it portrays one cliché after another; a future fascist like Earthly society where people live a regimented lifestyle where things are either drab gray or in black and white. There is no hope when war is waged, is the message here, and the action sequences to inject energy into this film are taken from all the other formulaic films that have been in the theatres over the last twenty years. Guns, martial arts, super-spy devices, pseudo-SWAT behavior, the list goes on and on of one action film cliché after another. The only thing missing was a car chase.The actors did a fine job. You can't fault them. The story by Phillip K. Dick was an interesting premise, and I think it works too. But the art direction and screenplay needed major adjustments, as well as some of the general direction. In short, the man guiding things behind the camera is not a sci-fi film maker, but an action film maker in Hollywood styleings given a sci-fi script to shoot.To me this film comes across as an elaborate episode of CSI with a dash of a futuristic war to set the stage. I never got the sense that I was experiencing a future society so much as an alternate reality with the notion of a war tacked on as an after thought to give the story plausibility. And, again, we have space Nazis; Hollywood's favorite fetish for bad guys on the big silver screen, including a reference to "storm-troopers" Might not the Centauris just be aliens who want something we have? That's pretty much why wars are fought. And did future Earth have to have their version of fascist society? Could there not have been lots of free people just wanting to throw off the threat of the aliens? But no. Instead we get the evils of fighting for survival alongside your fellow man against an exterior threat because, hey, what civilization would take things from an innocent people?The director tries to give us an anti-war film with all the espionage intrigue and unhealthy paranoia that he can muster, and in a loose dramatic vein it almost works. I got myself a cut rate used copy, and I'm glad that's all it was. I would have been highly disappointed had I paid a full ticket price to sit in a theatre to watch this thing. Highly disappointed. If you like noire-ish futuristic films, then maybe consider seeing this. But, be warned, where this thing wanted to "Blade Runner" it winds up being more like "Streets of Fire" in terms of philosophical vision by the director; i.e. one cliché after another.Watch at your own risk.

It's 2079 the world has been at war with an alien race from Alpha Centauri for 45 years. A secret government weapons designer Spencer Olham is forced to go on the run when he accused of being a replicant assassin created by the aliens to kill the Chancellor.Impostor is an overlooked adequate science fiction based on a story by Philip K. Dick. Due to the source material it's reminiscent of Total Recall, Blade Runner, Minority Report to name a few. Coincidently Stephen King's novel the Running Man shares a lot of similarities.Directed adequately by Gary Fleder and despite an abundance of unnecessary slow motion shots, the special effects, futuristic sets and gritty locations are well realised and executed. In addition, it has a fitting score, the camera work was ahead of its time using a style that has become common place since.Wisely Imposter doesn't feature the Alien race and the action follows Spencer Olham (Gary Sinise) on his search through the domed protected city and outskirts to find out the truth while being tracked down by Major Hathaway excellently played by Vincent D'Onofrio. There's a cast of familiar faces including Gary Dourdan, Tony Shalhoub, Shane Brolly and Madeleine Stowe who is at her peak here as Maya Olham.It's a drawn-out mystery, that said it has some nice ideas, touches, a few twists and a satisfying downbeat conclusion. Overall, an entertaining science fiction that oozes atmosphere.