This is my favorite movie. Its pure fun. Perhaps the criticism is true. The plot isnt revolutionary. The characters arent deep. The special effects are not the best. You have to look past all those stuck-up snubs and see the real beauty in this film. The pace is really what grabs you. There is little time spent on characterization, but whats there is done well. The movies overall frenetic pace can be seen as a method of glossing over a lack of characterization, but the main characters backgrounds are revealed quickly, allowing the pace to continue. Bruce's character, Korbin Dallas, is easily established in his opening scene as he takes a phone call: his background in the military, his recent divorce, and his current occupation as a cab driver. The soundtrack lends itself to this pace with its high-energy mix of techno, classical, and middle-eastern sounds. The sound effects themselves are huge and compliment every word and action so well. If you really want to get technical, I think the set design is awesome. It makes the future look grungy and bright all at the same time. The sets often use a large amount of hot colors and pop spots of bright blue against them. The costumes are also bright and incredibly imaginative. Additionally, the film utilizes lots of montages and cross-cuts. Its hard to explain unless you know the terminology. Basically, the editing is genious. It jumps between characters so they tell each others stories. What really made me fall in love with the movie is the humor. A large proportion of the movie is just plain funny, especially with Bruces dry, sarcastic humor. Not to mention awesome one-liners like, listen lady, I only speak two languages - English and bad English The nearly cartoonish acting by many, notably Ian Holm and Gary Oldman, are also hilarious but well done. Personally, I find Garys the best of all. His over-the-top southern accents adds humor to his monologues. The way all the characters interact is so believable that by the end scene, when Bruce tells you not to breath youll find it hard not to do what he says. I do every time. If anything I dare you not to laugh at the robber at Korbin Dallas door. 