Mr. Stitch

I kept it on for as long as I could, but after awhile this movie really began to bother me, so finally I turned it off. NOT one of Rutger Hauer's best films, or probably anybody involved best films by a long shot.

It's not like I was expecting a great movie. I admit, it was only the presence of Rutger Hauer and my knowlege of some bad blood on the set that made me want to watch this in the first place. The story, which is somewhat like Frankenstein, is about a young man (Wil Wheaton) who is patched together from various cadevers by an odd reclusive type (Hauer). The young man is horrifying in appearance, but brilliant in knowlege. The old man also possesses a great amount of knowledge, so he knows enough to keep his creation secluded into an odd building where everything is white. I think the white somehow represented a sign of religion, which was pointlessly made to look all bad, and like science was the key. That, along with the fact that Hauer "suddenly having to go away" (and never coming back) quite quickly played major factors in my turning it. I don't care for Wil Wheaton nearly enough to watch him by himself, and what was he supposed to DO for the rest of the movie without Hauer? I did not feel like finding out.

Note: Hauer "suddenly had to go away" because director Roger Avery asked him to leave the set...permanently. It seems that he and much of the cast were at odds with the rest of the crew. (maybe he didn't like the ridiculous view the film took on religion). Editing problems were also supposed to be a problem for this film. Those could be two reasons as to why it turned out so...oddly.

A very, very stylized, starkly minimalistic, risky vision of the idea of life without birth, a la Frankenstein, involving a military funded operation to build the perfect soldier (Wil Wheaton) with the use of body parts from eighty-eight individuals. The "Stitch Project" initially appears to be a success until the creation begins to remember those who he was and those who he loved. A more "thinking/talking" than "doing/action" piece (until the last few scenes). Intriguing and weird at the same time. Definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea.

Ron Perlman has a small role, told in flashback, of a doctor who was initially involved in the creation process and ends up becoming literally a part of it after he is killed trying to stop the military from subverting his work. He has some beautifully sweet romantic moments with love interest and fellow Stitch Project doctor Nia Peeples.

Favorite line(s): "Without choice you can be alive but you wouldn't be living." "Music is like poetry or fiction only put to sound."

Favorite line spoken by Ron Perlman (and Wil Wheaton): "If you believe it in your heart than follow it otherwise don't be so eager to concur with the opinions of others."

Due to its almost severe style, I would suggest renting before buying.

All the science in this science fiction tale is of the ludicrously pseudo sort, but it is stylish, well-acted entertainment. Will Wheaton, Rutger Hauer and Ron Perlman all give the excellent performances that one expects of them. Performances by the rest of the cast are more variable -- with some very good and some a bit over the top hammy. In terms of plot, the first half of the movie is quite original and makes the best of its obviously limited budget. Some parts of the second half are more trite and predictable but still stylishly done and ornamented by Will Wheaton's excellent performance. The special effects are minimal, the production design is a striking exercise in minimalism, and the musical score is quite good without being obtrusive. It is no SF classic, but it is both entertaining and thought provoking.

I rented this TV movie cause it had Rutger Hauer in it. I never imagined I was renting something soooo bad. The amount of flaws this movie has wouldn't fit on a grocery list. I felt sorry for Hauer, seeing him so fat and old, starring on a movie that was so bad. I think he ran away from making this movie, after seeing how bad it was turning out to be(we can only see Hauer on the first minutes of film, afterwards, he simply disappear). I know this film has had its amount of bad critics, but it is just that bad. A 0.5 out of 10.

I have an uncanny sort of respect for this one. Think about it for a moment: Roger Avary just found a spot on his mantelpiece for his Academy Award for writing one of the pop culture staples of the post-modern American cinema (or who knows where), and the next thing he signs on for (who knows how it generated but I'll imagine he pitched it) is to write and direct a weird-ass science fiction movie - the first original release for the Sci-Fi Channel no less - about a "creative" doctor who stitches together a man (OR IS IT? didn't mean to mis-gender) a-new out of 80 parts from both sexes, and then the new being named Lazarus starts to have dreams/realizes the visions of who he/she/it used to be. It takes some balls to commit to that - and by that, I mean a vision that is pretty much schlock. I am sorry if you were wondering if this was legitimately good, but I'm not sure if that's the case. Oh, Wil Wheaton and to an extent Rutger Hauer are committed to these characters, and there's a decent supporting role for the always-dependable Ron Perlman. But this has certain design elements that are familiar for sci-fi buffs - like an all-acrid all-white set ala THX-1138, and a... actually, I don't know what that GIANT EYEBALL is all about, but it is absolutely, stunningly funny and bizarre - and the dialog is stuffed with either exposition or inner-ideas and 'insights' from Lazarus and the other female doctor that he suddenly takes a liking to, and there's *more* to that.

The point is, this does have a not-terrible idea to kick it all off, which is an updated, horror-tinged but not all-the-way horror Frankenstein riff (if it isn't obvious enough, at one point Lazarus reads Frankenstein the book, which.... hey, Johnny 5 did that in Short Circuit 2, RIP OFF!) It also goes for some hallucinatory details, some that are fun for enjoying the dated value of the special effects and tomandandy techno score, and details like that 'Chemical Weapons' door sign (I still can't get over that). At the same time, this is also kind of messy by nature of the fact that Hauer (RIP) eventually during the production decided he was bored or didn't like it or who knows, and kind of just leaves more or less about halfway through. He is a major part of the story though, and the movie loses something without him in it more (when he is there, he is trying... ish, if not seeming to dig his teeth in like on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer level). What makes it schlock ultimately is that Avary a) doesn't seem to have much of a budget to work with, aside from the Tom Savini make-up and (which is terrific, goes without saying), and a couple of car crashes that are certainly something else, and b) it really starts to become more rote as it goes along in its second half. I was at first really keyed in to, you know, a moment where Lazarus flings a bar-bell at the floating giant eyeball and it falls to the ground and deflates after being pierced (and yes, I just wrote that sentence), but it devolves into the same old 'the Creation Is Out of Control We Need to Stop it But OMG it's Taken Control On Its Own AAH' story that has cropped up over and over. And, frankly, some of the dialog (ok, a lot) is more laughable than it is clever.

All of this said, Mr. Stitch feels like something that doesn't get looked at or talked about anymore, which is strange considering its history, who made it and who's in it (Taylor Negron has a fun supporting turn too), and it's the kind of obscure 90's work that probably could be unearthed by someone or some company (looking at you, Shout Factory?) It has some dull spots, but is overall a solid piece of so-crap-it's-a-gas material, and certainly a cut above what Sci-Fi has put out in the years since.