The Couchpotatoes I had no clue what kind of movie I was going to watch before I saw Terry Gilliam's name in the opening credits. As soon I saw his name I knew it was going to be a weird movie. Nothing wrong with a bit of strangeness but with The Zero Theorem I was a bit disappointed. Because it's basically about nothing. It all has no point. If life has no point than this movie got it right. But to me it was just too confusing. I still give it a five because of the filming and the weird surroundings. And of course for the excellent acting of Christoph Waltz. He's a great actor and even in movies about nothing he stands out. But great acting and good filming don't mean necessarily a good movie. It was too pointless for me.

Corey W. Allen (coreyallen) Despite displaying early brilliance in his work, Terry Gilliam's more recent work has been extremely disappointing and lackluster.With some positive critical buzz, and by his own description of this latest project on a Talkhouse interview, I looked forward to watching Zero Theorem on Amazon Prime. Christoph Waltz is typically compelling, but he looked lost in this story, like he was above the material. One sign a movie isn't good is when the most positive thing you observe is the set design. After an intriguing first act, the second act slowed the momentum to an annoyingly frustrating lull. At some point I found it hard to believe that the female lead character turned from a minor femme fatale or red herring into a major tangental distraction.Though the intended "nearby future" vision seemed realistic in its pursuits, the ideas and even the computer graphics are nothing phenomenal. I kept thinking to myself that I'd seen this movie before...in the '90's in the form of films like Lawnmower Man and Strange Days. Those predecessors were more successful in achieving their intended visions than this unfortunate waste of time.

birdseed-11 This movie was all about spectacular visuals. It truly is a feast for the eyes and imagination. As a software engineer I love to see how my profession is portrayed on the big screen. This interpretation is a hoot, and not completely off in a "solving puzzles is fun" kind of way, which is what draws my type to this profession. And the acting was fantastic, Tilda Swinton, Melanie Thierry, and Christoph Walz captured their roles perfectly. Matt Damon seemed to be having an off day. Lucas Hedges (Bob) was adequate. What this movie lacked, and what made it hard to stay with, was depth of characters. It seems like this movie was written just for the visual effects. The characters are just there. They had no background, no depth. No time or care was given to give us a reason why we should care about them. For example when Bainsely ends up at his door with "everything she owns in her van", it would have been interesting to see how that happened. It would give us a reason to care about her. The same goes for Bob. He is the son of Management and won't do his father's bidding but why? A backstory would have made him more compelling, especially when he got sick. And why specifically the bodyguards? A scene with Management expressing worry about his son would have given us a reason to like or dislike the bodyguards. And Management. And the ending is ambiguous at best: Is he lying on the floor of his home in a coma? Did he achieve an out-of-body experience? Is it all a dream? Did he transcend physical existence? The end is unsatisfying to say the least. I did like the touch where after the credits role we hear the other characters saying hello to him, like they have appeared on the beach with him and have been saved from whatever-really-happened. That was clever. Great fun visuals, reasonable story line, great acting, no character development, ambiguous ending.

Screen_Blitz Director Terry Gilliam brings his trademark of bizarre, supernatural imagery to the spotlight in this science-fiction thriller that tackles on complex scientific and philosophical subjects including astrophysics, psychology, existentialism, and religious ordeals while adopting a surreal visual style that sadly tower over its narrative heft. Two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz plays Qohen, a socially introverted computer operator living in a world where computers dominate just about everyone's day-to-day life and copes with his problems by seeking mental help from a therapist run by artificial intelligence. While at work, Qohen is invited to a party by his supervisor Joby (played by David Flewlis) where he meets quirky prostitute Bainsley (played by Melanie Thierry). As he develops a reluctant relationship with her, Qohen is tasked by a scientist named Management (played by solve the Zero Theorem: a scientific theory of the universe ending at absolutely ending, and receives the help from no one other than young computer hacker Bob (played by Lucas Hedges), but also distraction by his lover Bainsley who uses his research for personal purposes.Bizarre is probably the most accurate word to describe this film judging by its abnormal, quirky, futuristic production design as well as its surreal imagery and nifty costume designs even the most avid sci-fi fans don't see everyday. Terry Gilliam boasts a unique taste in visual heft that is too difficult to ignore, but the narrative generated by Pat Rushin's screenplay suffers at a wide scope. Though the plot kicks off with an astonishing, if complex premise, it's not long before it is lost in a sea of convoluted story elements dealing with its surreal and scientific complex themes. Throughout the entirety, the film tries so hard to build up a strong and intriguing story that tackles compelling concepts of existentialism , astrophysics, and religion as it deals with the main character solving the meaning of life (a plot shows resemblance to a verse in the Book of Eccesiastes) and doesn't shy away from being the complicated territory, but it gradually grows uneven and widely ambiguous, and at times severely unfocused. The romance between Christoph Waltz and Melanie Thierry should have been meshed with the story but ultimately gets increasingly distracting to the plot as the film fails balance this romantic subplot to the main plot. In the end, it not only resulted in many unanswered questions but a simply messy plot. The performances by Waltz and Thierry are decent and shine some redeeming quality to the picture, but the rest is set to leave viewers in a disappointment.The Zero Theorem is a bit of a disappointing entry by Terry Gilliam and isn't granted much justice by the cast performances, though they are strong enough to gain attention. This is a film that may please some, particularly fans of Gilliam but leave others with a cold shoulder.