Somewhere, I think I once heard this movie described as being cotton candy for the mind. That sums this one up very accurately. Oh, and popcorn. With butter. Lots of butter.

[Bitscape decides to pause the special features so as to type the rest of this entry.]

Ahem, yes. Very stylized. Lots of funky sets, camera angles, cool lighting effects, costumes, etc. Vibrant, high contrast, primary color-centric images dominate the film. A lot of the action shots were clearly Matrix-inspired, although they were very well done in their own right.

The three leads, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu lend the film a lighthearted, carefree tone. While none of the roles in this one are going to win anybody any Oscars, it works well for what it is. Goofy, lighthearted popcorn fun which frequently makes fun of itself while parodying the action genre in general.

The plot, such as it is, isn't much to speak of. Highly predictable, like any cookie cutter Bond-alike. But then again, a gut-wrenching story really isn't the point here, is it? In the case of this film, the plot is merely a vehicle used to advance a series of loosely related short scenes, 90% of whose substance have almost nothing to do with "the story".

Well, maybe that's not quite totally true, but sometimes it seems like it. Not that I mind, really, because the movie is a diversion anyway, right? That being the case, when most of the film consists of entertaining side trips is, well.... as long as they're fun and engaging, it's a fun movie.

Oh, and one in a line of work such as myself must wholeheartedly agree with the whip-cracking "efficiency expert" who came to consult with a certain big high tech company. (A Lucy Liu's bit in one of many mildly surreal, absurd, mostly offtopic scenes.) "Who builds the products of this company? You do. Engineers do. NOT managers. THEY should be answering to YOU. Not you to them."

/me wasn't sure whether to laugh or applaud.

Oh, and I might also say that the DVD on this is a top-notch production. Crisp, clean, supurb transfer. A bunch of extras, that I just started poking into. Commentary tracks. And for a film like this, where a lot of the scenes could work for stand-alone viewing in 5 minute pieces (like for the one I just quoted above), chapter selection is very cool.

Alright, I'd say I got my money's worth. (Yes, in this case, I did buy, not rent. What can I say? It was an impulse buy. I was suckered by the big promo display at Best Buy.) Good popcorn candy fun. Yes.