Sundance Film Festival movie review: 'A Glitch in the Matrix'

Simulation theory is a massive concept for anyone to try to wrap their arms around - and the documentary 'A Glitch In The Matrix' (world premiering at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival) is sadly what happens when someone watches 'The Matrix' a few dozen times too many.

In short: Documentary filmmaker Rodney Ascher ('Room 237') tackles this question "are we living in a simulation?"

There are genuinely thought-provoking scientific theorems and logic exercises that make convincing claims arguing that perceived "reality" is actually a simulation. But 'Glitch in the Matrix' is just pop simulation theory reduced to a comically insipid level. As 'Loose Change' was to 9/11 conspiracy theories, 'Glitch in the Matrix' is to simulation theory.

Letting science fiction author Philip K. Dick drone on and on about the validity of simulation theory is no more credible than going to Nicholas Sparks to define true love. Fundamentally, 'Glitch' has a problem of authority. Great documentaries typically fall into one of two buckets: A) compelling primary source or B) thorough, respected secondary sources. 'Glitch' opts for the third alternative: neither A or B. The film gives a platform to a handful of cranks who basically reason that "because I thought of an orange fish in my mind's eye and saw an orange fish moments later with my physical eyeballs, therefore we live in a simulation."

There's a very selective nature to 'Glitch,' which allows the talking heads to just riff some faux-deep thoughts completely unchecked. 'Glitch' posits a lot of intriguing ideas - but virtually none of the claims are challenged. The documentary just overwhelms the audience with uncontested conjectures about simulation theory. This is no different than talking faster or louder in a debate and claiming victory. The commonality between Dick and most of the talking head interviews is unexamined narcissism - a corruption of "I think, therefore I am" twisted into "I saw The Matrix, therefore I am the Messiah who sees the truth, maaaannnnn." Too many people featured in this documentary genuinely believe they are The One.

'A Glitch in the Matrix' is so egregiously simple and shallow that it threatens to turn people away from the entirely plausible idea that humanity and reality actually exist within a simulation. Yes, compelling and thoughtful proofs do exist that make simulation theory seem likely - this documentary glosses over or just flat-out ignores most of these ideas, in favor of talking to the guy who once wasn't arrested, therefore that was the simulation intervening on his behalf, maaaaaannnnnn. This half-baked bullshit of a documentary is in no way, shape or form anything approximating a thoughtful consideration of simulation theory.

The one and only way 'A Glitch in the Matrix' could be construed into proving "reality" is a simulation ... is if the actual simulation concocted this crackpot "documentary" to dissuade mainstream popularity of humanity "waking up" to the falseness of the simulation, thereby making 'Glitch' a means of self-defense.

Boom. That was the sound of your mind being blown, maaaannnnn.

Final verdict: This navel gazing nonsense of a documentary is just heady fluff peddling bro-philosophy. This is exactly the type of documentary Joe Rogan would love. That is not a compliment. Oh, and this doc will make audiences detest 'The Matrix.'

Score: 0.5/5

'A Glitch In The Matrix' screens at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. This documentary a is not yet rated and has a running time of 108 minutes.