World on a Wire is a two-part TV movie, which means that it lasts nearly three and a half hours. Luckily, it generally wears that length well, even if the pacing sometimes drags more than you'd like it to. It helps, of course, that World on a Wire boasts such a phenomenal story, telling the story of a scientific company that's created a virtual world in order to make economic predictions, only for the real world to start undergoing its own surreal changes. Done on a TV movie budget, World on a Wire makes up for its lack of effects by packing in the ideas, allowing its characters to explore questions about reality, free will, control, and so much more. Made nearly 25 years before The Matrix hit the mainstream, World on a Wire marries a crime story to a science-fiction thriller, creating something that - at its best moments - feels like a Philip K. Dick novel captured on screen. And if some of the reveals along the way feel a little familiar these days, well, I can forgive that; this came first, and does the ideas justice, never skimping on a chance to explore the deep ramifications of its philosophy and allow the characters to react in an honest, heartfelt manner. Yes, World on a Wire gets a little long at points, and sometimes belabors the points it's trying to make. But it's still a great story, one that feels exciting and rich and groundbreaking, even if it's been revisited in the years to come. (Indeed, maybe because it's been revisited, but not with such thoughtfulness and attention to detail.) It takes a little bit of patience at times, but if you like your science-fiction to have ideas and creativity, you'll find a lot to love here.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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