The Final Cut

Lions Gate Films | Release Date: October 15, 2004

8.0	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 95 Ratings

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SuminorudderFeb 17, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One of Robin Williams greatest dramatic performances that has unreasonably been sneered on for far to long. For a long time, this has been one of my favorite films, full of gorgeous cinematography, a systemic thought process behind it’s near sci-fi subject matter (though I’m sure it felt less “near” 17 years ago on its release,) and a compelling story told briskly within its own universe. I firmly believe this is a victim of its release timing, after glitzy and polished “Archived Memory” flicks like Paycheck with Ben Affleck but before “Deja Vu” with Denzel Washington also taking a turn alongside Jim Caviziel, it got lost in the consumption of glossier eye candy that was less obtrusive into people’s morality and ethics. The premise is this: a company can implant a biological A/V recording device in utero for a fee. Everything that that child experiences will be recorded, and the static of their life can be reduced to a highlight reel for their loved ones to screen in a theater on their passing. Make no mistake. This film is an all-caps challenging film. Within the first ten or so minutes, you have a man describing a fishing trip with his father and his deceased brother. Robin Williams character Alan Hakman takes a note of it, and while seeking out the appropriate footage destroys a memory of the deceased savagely beating his wife. The wife is at the screening a few days later and she and Alan exchange pleasantries. The strength in this film lies in what’s unsaid. there is much left unsaid, but throughout its course, there are few questions that are not asked. What value is there in speaking the sins of those who can’t be punished back into memory?
What becomes of those that take others heaviest burdens upon themselves? What does that say about redemption? Is it even possible, or is redemption a construct of those alive left to debate it?

It’s not perfect by any means. Mira Sorvino is just a feminine macguffin that doesn’t even come close to clearing the Bechdel Test and that’s a frustrating waste of her talent and what her role could have been, and one of the few things that absolutely sticks in my craw. It’s glaring, and it makes me angry still. There are some odd ways in which the ZOE implant seems to make sense and not make sense as far as it’s functionality and mechanics work, and perhaps if you’re one of the ones who watches based off of this (since an incredibly small number of people to date have really seen this film) you’ll probably see what I mean by the time the credits role. Overall, I consider this a personal classic and have watched repeatedly and wept at the cruel realities presented in it. And continue to do so. It’s a film that will absolutely hurt your heart and spirit, but sometimes, it will be the precise hurt you need.… Expand

16 of 16 users found this helpful160

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Aversion68May 3, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Audio/visual unsynchronised When Fletcher is threatening Alan, as we cut to a wide shot, his mouth stops moving but the audio continues.… Expand

7 of 7 users found this helpful70

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BaskApr 24, 2021

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5 of 5 users found this helpful50

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oustApr 27, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Anachronisms If a person lived 60 years, excluding sleep, there would be over 350,000 hours of film. A cutter wouldn't live long enough to edit that much, even with fast forwarding.… Expand

5 of 5 users found this helpful50

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Autopsy904Jun 14, 2021

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5 of 5 users found this helpful50

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Pluto744Jun 22, 2021

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5 of 5 users found this helpful50

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Aerialist277Jun 19, 2021

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4 of 4 users found this helpful40

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Palindrome704Jun 28, 2021

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4 of 4 users found this helpful40

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Acquit77Jul 18, 2021

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4 of 4 users found this helpful40

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Vial44Apr 30, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is one of Robins slickest movies ever. His performance is profound, the plot is inventive, unsettling, fascinating & the twists come out of left field leaving you stunned and impressed by their emotional impact.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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SputterApr 20, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The tattoo that Alan gets resembles the symbol for a pause button on an audio or video recorder (a circle with 2 vertical lines like an 11 inside). The point of the tattoo is to block (pause) audio recording from his Zoe implant.… Expand

14 of 16 users found this helpful142

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DefameApr 29, 2021

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6 of 7 users found this helpful61

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Chassis28May 8, 2021

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4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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Catenary44Jun 6, 2021

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4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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DiameterApr 27, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Factual Errors In the beginning of the movie Alan reviews the life of someone from birth..to death. It would be hard to imagine the implant being in before actual birth, plus since baby eyes don't focus for some six months, there wouldn't be clear images anyway.… Expand

7 of 9 users found this helpful72

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Embalmer98Jun 10, 2021

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3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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RindApr 23, 2021

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7 of 11 users found this helpful74

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AmuletApr 20, 2021

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6 of 11 users found this helpful65

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ProlificApr 25, 2021

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2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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FilipeNetoJul 25, 2018

A good idea that did not work out.

This film takes place in the relatively near future (note that the clothes and the style of the objects is similar to ours), where high technology microchips are available to those who want to record theirA good idea that did not work out.

This film takes place in the relatively near future (note that the clothes and the style of the objects is similar to ours), where high technology microchips are available to those who want to record their entire existence on Earth, in order to be remembered after death. Microchips record everything you do, good or bad, needing an editor for the public viewing of the movies, which had become a relatively popular ritual associated with a person's funeral. The problem is that there are many people who are against these practices and are willing to do anything to stop it.

This movie takes to the extreme the concept of Big Brother. We are watched, the information goes to a large multinational but the five senses of our body are the recording medium of everything. The film has a very good premise, an original concept, which has not always been well used and developed. There are scenes and sequences that are better than others, but one notes a general decrease in quality from the middle of the film onwards. Some sub-plots do not make sense, such as the love relationship between Alan and Delilah, which is left over in the general plot, not to mention that this female character is virtually an extra. There are still a handful of paradoxes, failures of continuity and lack of logic.

About the actors, we can point out a regular participation of Robin Williams, which stands out because the actor is not particularly known for his dramatic roles. Jim Caviezel is a cardboard villain and does one of the worst jobs as an actor in his career. Mira Sorvino has nothing to do here and the rest of the cast is limited to doing what is asked of them, without brilliance or demerit.

It's not enough a good idea for a hit movie. This idea must be matured and well developed, each part of the script must be the object of care and attention. It's not what happens here. The screenwriter fell asleep in the shadow of the original idea and the film just lost with it.… Expand

1 of 15 users found this helpful114

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Libation70Jul 31, 2021

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0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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JimGJul 1, 2007

Complete waste of an interesting premise. The storyline and subplots are cut to shreds leaving no reason to get involved or care about the characters. Absolutely pathetic.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

AmurabiM.Feb 21, 2006

unanimated, boring but with an interesting premise, "the final cut" is just an exercise of style that results... boring, unanimates and completely senseless and incoherent.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MIkeB.Apr 1, 2006

Intriguing and intelligent movie that draws you in and keeps you thinking long after it's over.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

[Anonymous]Mar 13, 2007

The sad thing is that the premise of this movie could have been very interesting. Unfortunately they left out one small detail...an actual plot. Nothing happens in this movie until the last few minutes when [***SPOILER***] somebody chases The sad thing is that the premise of this movie could have been very interesting. Unfortunately they left out one small detail...an actual plot. Nothing happens in this movie until the last few minutes when [***SPOILER***] somebody chases Robin Williams through the woods for a little while and shoots him. It was stupid, boring, and just plain bad.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful