On paper, Freejack sounds like the perfect cyberpunk movie. The rich have their consciousness uploaded onto a server when they die. They then pull someone’s body from the past into the future so they can download their consciousness into that body and continue living. The corporations are in control, there’s a massive rich/poor divide, etc.
Yet in execution, I just find the movie boring. It might be due to Emilio Estevez always looking bored throughout the movie. Or maybe it’s the costume design that’s so bland. The poor areas have people with sufficiently dirty clothing but in the rich area, people are just wearing… clothes. For most of the movie, Emilio just wears a tan jacket. It’s weird how the cars are crazy futuristic in the rich part of town yet everyone dresses like it’s the early 90s (when the movie was made).
The movie almost could’ve been another Johnny Mnemonic given the plot. And yet, by losing the wacky over-the-top acting and designs of Johnny Mnemonic, Freejack just feels bland to me.
But maybe I’m being too harsh on it. It’s streaming everywhere, so go see for yourself if you haven’t watched it. Tubi, Freevee, Roku, Kanopy, Shout-TV
I had never heard of this movie, but the premise seems similar to the Netflix show Altered Carbon, which is also cyberpunk and I enjoyed.
Yeah, rich people downloading their consciousness into a younger body isn’t really a unique idea. There was also a Batman Beyond episode and a Ryan Reynolds movie with the same plot. The first season of Altered Carbon did a great job with it though.
