Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Empathy, Inc.’

Written by Scott Edwards 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

It is said that if you want a new perspective on life, you should walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. While this is a good saying, most people are not able to subscribe to it, mainly because they do not really want to know how someone else lives, especially if they are less fortunate. But that is really where the disconnect comes from, for some of us are well off, most of us are doing alright, and there are plenty of us are struggling to get by, while there are those who have nothing and are just fine with their way of life. When all is said and done, it is important to remember to have fun and live your best life, because in the end, we all end up with the same amount in our postmortem checkbook… nothing.

After being forced to move in with his in-laws, Joel is far from in a good place, but his wife Jessica is still feeling very optimistic. Being forced to relive his recent failure at his former company, which he founded, Joel is just looking for some time to relax, while his father in-law Ward is doing his best to keep him from sputtering away. With plenty of money in their savings, Ward and Vicky are looking to help take care of their daughter and her husband, but Joel is not willing to take a handout for any reason. Taking a walk to clear his head, he finds himself in a bar trying to drown his sorrows when he gets a visit from an old friend.

While sitting alone at the bar, Joel is approached by his old friend Nicolaus who has heard the news.  Ragging on his old friend about his company going under, Nicolaus has a little venture of his own that he is looking to sell. Learning of a new XVR experience that can change the world, Joel has his interest piqued, but needs to know much more about it before trying to raise the funds to bring it to the world. But Nicolaus is always in salesman mode and offers up a powerful selling point, in that, XVR can make every rich client, experience what it is like to be poor. While he is very skeptical about the proposition, Joel is intrigued and allowed to take a test run in the chair and finds himself in another world that he has never known before, which helps to change his outlook not only about the program, but about life as well.

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Being able to convince his in-laws to invest into the little XVR program, Joel has a million dollars down and wants to be rewarded for his efforts, but is shocked to find out that Nicolaus and programmer Lester are shutting him out of the shop. Needing to get another taste of what the program can do, Joel steals a keycard and breaks into the building during the night to get another ride in the chair. Not following the rules that were laid out for him in the first go round, Joel has a run in with a police officer and finds himself running for his life. Escaping the situation and getting into a gas station bathroom, Joel looks at his face in the mirror and is shocked to see it is not his own. As a few days pass, Joel hears that he has been doing things that he does not recall doing, but while he can chalk that up to people being crazy, he cannot deny the familiar face in the newspaper staring back at him, the one of a man who is being brought up on charges.

Wow, this movie caught me a bit off guard. As I was expecting more Virtual Reality things to be going on, we are brought into the real world, just through someone else’s eyes. I really liked how quickly Joel was brought into the new VR Company, and being the money man, he believed that he would have full access to the company, yet, when Nicolaus tells him the truth, well, his outlook is forced to change. With the loss of leadership on his end, Joel breaks the rules of the program and finds out that there is something much shadier going on, as the program is not VR at all, but a mind swap with the less fortunate.
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Trying to extort the company to get his in-laws their money back, Joel is met with plenty of pushback and while going to the cops could be an option, doing so would make every dollar of the company’s profits disappear, making him take a different route. With a failing business, a move back to the parents’ house, talk about making a baby, plenty of money changing hands, a VR program that is much too real, a non-trusting partner and a secret that only a VR company can keep, this movie really makes you wonder where some of those new VR programs are coming from. With all of the innovation in the industry, it may not be that far off to have a mind swap, not only to live out a fantasy, but to never have to fear death again. Happy Viewing.

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