There are a lot of stories told within this story.

Between its levels of storytelling, I think the way the stories interact is really smart and incisive and valuable and compelling. Themes of gender, age, taste, and wisdom shine pretty clearly.

I think the stories themselves are kind of unconvincing and/or underwhelming.

The movie spends a really long time having its characters not speaking or acting for themselves very much. It's a lot of exposition and hearsay, and just generally…

I really enjoyed the manic Raiminess of it all, and I have a soft spot for urban science fiction/action movies from around this time (you know: TMNT, Robocop, Double Dragon).

But as much as I think the titular guy is kind of interesting and as much as I like the style, I think the story is a bit weak. Important beats are a little unconvincing and the antagonists suffer from quantity over quality.

The action also gets a little tedious.…

This movie is excruciatingly close to self-parody, especially in the interminable final shot.

It has so little to say and it takes so long to say it, and I really don't think it says it well at all. The central relationship just has way too little foundation/development, and the whole movie just feels so artificial.

And it's one thing to play with unreality in order to put themes into play in creative ways, but this story is just packed with…

oh good the cop learned to shoot again -_-

Look, the fact that I'm giving this as high a score as I am is a testament to how brilliantly crafted it is, even if its politics are firmly suspicious.

The character development has an uncommon and unexpected degree of care. It's generally tense or funny when it attempts either thing. The performances are excellent (or maybe Rickman is just so good that he somehow elevates the entire cast).

And this…