Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Virtuosity’

Written by Scott Edwards

Do you remember the days before the internet took its hold on society, the days of dial up modems, and the days when cell phones were used to make phone calls? I sure do. Being born into a great transition, an informational revolution of sorts, has allowed me to see the best of both worlds. Not only have I seen and been a part of the hype, I have also been able to stand back and watch our youth struggle with the idea that the internet was not a large part of my life growing up as they wonder exactly how I managed survive a day or two without it.      

With that being said, technology is great!  How far computers have come in my lifetime only leads me to believe that an actual learning computer is only a few years off. The things that can come from an artificial being would be fantastic, as long as we don’t let it gain control over us. What Virtuosity brings to the plate is a look inside of the ultimate computer learning program, Sid 6.7. Sid is a compilation of many different personalities that have been uploaded into a learning program. If this program was set to teach us new and wonderful things, everything would be great, however Sid was programmed with the 'finest' characteristics of the greatest killers known in history, over two hundred of them.

Sid also plays an important role in virtual simulations for the local police to train and help them learn what the worst of the worst could do in a virtual setting, but when he kills an inmate during a training session, the order is given to shut down the system, and shut down Sid. His creator is not willing to let his finest creation be shut down, so he devises a plan to move Sid to the real world. Nanocell regeneration has been discovered, and adapted to feed off of common glass, and so Sid is cooked up and released in the real world, with no weaknesses...except one…

---

​Sid's 'creation' means that Lt. Parker Barnes, an ex-peace officer that has been incarcerated for hunting down and killing the man who kidnapped his wife and daughter, is quickly called into action. Barnes had been the primary training convict using the virtual world to track down Sid 6.7, and now he will be the city’s only hope at catching the deranged program. Barnes understands the patterns that Sid uses and has to fall back on his own personal losses to find and incapacitate his virtual foe.

Virtuosity is an action-packed ride as Parker Barnes (Denzel Washington) hunts down Sid 6.7 (Russell Crowe) in this psychological thriller. Crowe plays a dynamic psychopath that is only looking to play against his favorite opponent and gain as much media attention as possible when pursuing his ultimate goal, chaos. Barnes is followed by Madison Carter (Kelly Lynch), a psychologist that thinks she will be able to help capture Sid, but ends up having her daughter, played by a young Kaley Cuoco, kidnapped by the killer forcing Barnes to play into the same situation as he did with his wife and daughter years earlier.

With an indestructible villain on the loose, Barnes is forced to challenge his own demons as Sid 6.7 takes him on a ride that he will never forget. With the way this story is told, you are left to question what you would do if put in the same situation as Parker Barnes. With your family at risk, what would you do to protect them?  How far would you go? Could or would anybody be able to stop you? Strength is something you should never be afraid of using, but can you also practice restraint? That is the real question.

---