Twilight Man (1995)

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Man, I really like Dean Stockwell and Tim Matheson. They're both terrific actors and always put in a good performance. So how did they get roped into doing this turkey? Well, it beats doing a bad farce at the Burt Reynolds dinner theater in Florida, I guess.To be fair, the second half of the movie picks up considerably as Matheson does a good job playing the man on the run. But you have to get past the really unlikely beginning in which a genius computer hacker targets Matheson's character and seems to be able to manipulate his entire life. Not buying it at all.So credit director Craig Baxley for doing what he can to make things exciting and interesting. Unfortunately, the script dooms "Twilight Man" from the start to its embarrassingly bad ending where Stockwell and Matheson have their final face off. You have to take a quantum leap in logic for it to be believable and make sense.

Admittedly, these comments are being submitted well after this movie was made and subsequently, I have had an opportunity to catch up on some of the technology alluded to in this film. However, at the time of its production, I had no idea that people could "steal" your identity, to say nothing of the havoc and terror which could be perpetrated against an innocent victim. Not being familiar with computers and the possibility and realization of "hackers" being out there, so this film was an eye-opener and a wakeup call for me. (And NO, I had not seen "The Net" prior to seeing The Twilight Man, so there was not point of reference or comparison for me, as another person commented upon.I thought Tim Matheson was outstanding showing both a vulnerability at being a victim and as an extremely determined individual, digging deeply into his unknown past to identify and track the person responsible for destroying his life.The Lieutenant was extremely good - not giving away her suspicions as to Jordan Coopers guilt or innocence, and, while checking out leads as they came in, not jumping the gun; rather waiting for more evidence as to not only the suspect, but as to whether the acts were even committed by another person as alleged by Mr. Cooper.Though several years have passed since the film was made, the twists, turns and surprises still make it a strong film and one of my favorites.

This movie is well-edited, with plenty of atmosphere and great camera shots; unfortunately, you could drive a truck through the loopholes in the script. My 11 yr. old spotted a glaring inconsistency right away...which tells you something. The female lead lets the bad guy into her apartment; "Why is she doing that?!" my kid demands. "Because she doesn't know what he looks like," I respond (being the non-observant, gullible mom that I am). "Yes, she does! He was the Cable Guy!" So I'm left realizing that I would probably let the bad guy in, too. Sigh. I stayed with this movie until the end, and kinda enjoyed it. But I wouldn't watch it again. Not unless I had my kid around to save me from bad plot devices.

Farfetched tale of a computer geek who uses an elaborate online system to take over another man's entire history. He then frames the man for a pair of crimes that he had no knowledge of which leads to a big manhunt and, of course, the big showdown in the end. Nothing new, but still an enjoyable film.