1999 science fiction thriller The Thirteenth Floor had misfortune of being released in the same year as Matrix, film that had dealt with subject of simulated reality with bigger budgets, bigger stars and exponentially bigger impact on popular culture. It also had misfortune of being produced by Roland Emmerich, German filmmaker who had few fans among the critics and whose record on box office was mixed. However, this adaptation of Simulacron 3, 1963 novel by Daniel F. Galouye - one of the first to deal with the concept of virtual worlds – looks unburdened with desire to awe audience and actually tells story which is, despite somewhat byzantine plot, relatively simple. Protagonist, played by Craig Bierko, is Douglas Hall, the heir of the virtual reality company led by inventor Hannon Fuller (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl). When his boss and mentor gets killed, Hall must prove his innocence by entering the simulation that recreates 1930s Los Angeles and there he finds some disturbing clues about the regular world. Directed by Joseph Rusnak, The Thirteen Floor benefits from a very good cast (including Gretchen Moll as interesting variation of femme fatale) and the style that mixes futurism with iconography of film noir.
RATING: 7/10