accessAtlanta

Grade: D

Verdict: Realllly bad. Trust me.

Details: Starring Tim Robbins and Ryan Philippe. Directed by Peter Howitt. Rated PG-13 for violence and language. One hour, 50 minutes.

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Review: Here's the first sign that something is seriously wrong with the laughable new thriller “Antitrust”: Tim Robbins is fourth-billed behind some interchangeable teen dreams (OK, so they are the ostensible stars, but it still doesn't feel right).

Here's the second sign: What's up with a computer-geek movie that hasn't been compulsively tracked on the Internet by computer geeks (last time I looked, “Antitrust” wasn't even a blip on the Ain't It Cool Web site). Finally, the movie's been on the shelf so long that the press notes refer to one of the actors as the star of “the upcoming 'Charlie's Angels' ” (and that came out the first week in November).

In other words, here's the onscreen proof that we are deep into the dread January doldrums.

If you're still with me, this is the the setup. Gary Winston (Robbins) is the charismatic albeit slightly shady head of a zillion-dollar computer company (think Bill Gates crossed with Ted Turner). Gary prides himself on recruiting the best and brightest tech-heads to keep his company, N.U.R.V., a step ahead of the competition. His newest trophy brainiac is Milo (Ryan Phillippe), an independent-minded genius who's been working out of his garage with his best pal (Yee Jee Tso, who might as well be wearing a “dead meat” sign pinned to his back). The pair had planned to launch their own company, but Milo is seduced by Gary's avuncular, encouraging manner, his plans for a cutting-edge system called Synapse, and his state-of-the-art N.U.R.V. center.

Once on campus, things seem great. Not only is Milo Gary's pet, but he's got two gorgeous women in his life, one a girlfriend (Claire Forlani), the other a colleague (Rachael Leigh Cook). However, Milo soon senses that something's rotten in the state of N.U.R.V.

Well, not as rotten as what's going on in “Antitrust.” In a blink, the movie goes from vaguely acceptable to utterly absurd. The examples are endless, but for the sake of sanity, let's just say that this may be the stupidest movie ever made about smart people. It's badly written, badly directed and, with the exception of Robbins' baby boomer bad guy, badly acted.

At one point, a character says something like, “all Synapse modules complete.” If that makes about as much sense to you as some of the techno-garble spewed by Scotty on the old “Star Trek,” don't go anywhere near “Antitrust.”

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, AJC: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution