The Thirteenth Floor Movie Review

The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

Rent The Thirteenth Floor on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Daniel F. Galouye (book Simulacron-3), Josef Rusnak & Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez (screenplay)
Directed by: Josef Rusnak
Starring: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Computer scientist Douglas Hall's mentor Hannon Fuller, a computer genius, is killed just before the launch of his new virtual reality simulation program.

Verdict
It's a neat idea, an idea that I expect had a much bigger impact when the book released in 1964. While still relevant, this movie coasts on that one idea for the duration. The characters are dull, serving as foils for the plot which is full of contrivances. All of it exists just to make us question reality. Unfortunately that question was explored so much better when The Matrix released two months before this movie.
Skip it.

Review
It's a trippy movie that questions what's real and whether we're living in a simulation. Surprisingly, it's not The Matrix, and this movie had the unfortunate timing of releasing just a couple of months earlier.

Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl), owner of an advanced virtual reality company that has recreated 1937 Los Angeles, makes a startling discovery but is killed before the reveal. His protege Douglas (Craig Bierko) is left with the company while trying to figure out what Fuller knew. Fuller left a cryptic message in the simulation. Amidst the investigation, an unknown daughter Jane (Gretchen Mol) appears wanting to shut down the simulation.

Craig Bierko plays Douglas Hall

Douglas enters the simulation to find the message. We're told it's dangerous to enter the simulation, but the only reason seems to be to add danger to the plot. We've been told Fuller entered the simulation frequently with no ill effects. While Douglas worked on this project, he seems to have no knowledge of the detail of the simulation the company created. He's stunned by the amazing reproduction of Los Angeles. To add danger, a timer must be set so that one doesn't spend too much time in the simulation. The only reason is to help the plot. The simulation has doubles of the real world counterparts. Douglas searches for his and Fuller's doubles first for answers. He enters again, and it's awfully convenient the timer disengages when Douglas goes back in unsupervised. He discovers Fuller used the simulation to fulfill his fantasies. What else is VR for?

Everything unravels when a bartender in 1937 discovers his world is a simulation He becomes unhinged. At the same time we realize this world is more complex than first realized. It's a neat reveal, and this gives us some clues just before to help us guess what's going on.

It's been twenty-five year since I first saw this. My memory of it was better than reality. This is rough around the edges. It's a great concept, making you question what's real and what's a simulation. The Matrix packaged the same ideas into a much more fun, stylish, and engaging movie. This movie creates villains that are so one dimensional. They are props that exist just to push the plot forward. So much of this movie exists to push the plot. This is based on a 1964 novel, and accounting for that, it's a neat idea that would have been wild at the time. The ending feels like a classic conclusion to older sci-fi stories.