Action & Adventure Pick: Impostor (2001)
Impostor flopped hard when it was released in 2001, making a mere $8.1 million at the box office from a budget of $40 million. It also didn’t receive a ton of praise, but is a sci-fi film I’ve always had an affection for, and was happy to see available on Netflix Instant.
Based on the 1953 short story from (who else?) Philip K. Dick, the film is basically a 102 minute manhunt filled with enjoyable futuristic sci-fi elements and a great cast that includes the always-awesome Gary Sinise, Vincent D’Onofrio, Mekhi Phifer, Tony Shalhoub, and Madeleine Stowe.
Imposter takes place in 2079, 45 years after a deadly alien race from Alpha Centauri attacked Earth. Humans won the war, but in those 45 years we’ve grown paranoid, which leads to the creation of a totalitarian global military government, and force field domes that protect the world’s most populated cities. That paranoia is only strengthened by the discovery that the Alpha Centauri have kidnapped high-ranking government officials and replaced them with Replicants, who look just like their human counterparts and even believe themselves to be human. These perfect biological copies are assassins in disguise, programmed to detonate when they come in contact with their target.
Sinise stars as Spencer Olham, the designer of top secret government weapons, who is arrested and wrongly accused of being a Replicant sent to kill the Chancellor. Olham manages to escape being captured and dissected (which is the only way to determine whether someone is a Replicant or not), and must go on the run and prove his innocence before it’s too late.
What follows is a fun, fast-paced action flick with several great twists and turns, and while it’s not as great as some other Philip K. Dick adaptations, it’s definitely worth checking out if you like sci-fi, aliens, and most importantly, Gary Sinise.