In the spectrum that is Sci-Fi, Gattaca is by far one of the most enthralling science fiction stories that I have ever experienced of any medium. Though this is definitely a science fiction movie, it is also a drama/mystery…and heavily reliant on drama and mystery this movie is.

Gattaca takes place in a middle to upper class community where genetic engineering has become the diagnosis for most parents in order for their children to possess their best hereditary traits. This sets up the main plot of the film, which incorporates many instances of liberal eugenics to determine social class. The main character, Vincent Freeman (In which I absolutely love his last name as it is an undertone to what the character truly wants to be), played extremely well by Ethan Hawke, is conceived and brought into the world without the aid of this genetic modification technology. Of course, this puts Vincent at a disadvantage, especially with his brother Anton who was born into the world as one of these perfect beings. There are many scenes that display Vincent’s disadvantage, but he always seems to have an untouchable and underlying confidence. This confidence is what brings Vincent to proceed towards what he has always dreamed about and what his parents' precluding statements of his imperfections had always attempted to deprive him from. Vincent’s dream of a difficult and yet exciting career in space.

Throughout the film, we see instances of Vincent staring into space. One of my favorite scenes is when Vincent is working on the maintenance crew (janitorial work) for Gattaca and he is staring at a rocket soaring into the stars while on the job. His boss looks at him and tells him to dream on because he will never achieve that level of excellence due to his genetic inferiority. What he, and the viewer, doesn’t know is Vincent has a plan. Yes, a plan to beat the system.

Eventually, we see Vincent breaking the law by impersonating a “valid” (a person who is genetically engineered). This “Valid” named Jerome Morrow is played brilliantly by Jude Law who actually portrays a cripple, although according to his identification he is still of normal health. This allows Vincent to take Jerome’s identity and utilize it to become a trainee at the Gattaca facility. The process of identity impersonation is actually much more complicated than Vincent expected. He has to keep a vile of urine with him at all times (in which the real Jerome is a raging alcoholic, making the process much more difficult), Keep blood samples, rid himself of his extra dead skin, all the while holding an interestingly subtle relationship with Irene (Uma Thurman) and dealing with a murder, in which Vincent actually went through with to get rid of the only person who could know of his true identity, the mission director.

I will not spoil any more of the movie for those who have not seen it, but believe me; you will not regret watching this amazing film. Some people convict this movie of being too boring or too slow. Trust me, if you have a decent attention span and a liking for great films or sci-fi in general, you will not be disappointed. This is an amazing tale of someone who will do anything under any circumstances to reach his dream. It is truly a beautiful thing.

Potter is back in full-form with this sixth sequel to the beloved franchise. This is the best film in the series by far, with The Prisoner of Azkaban in second and The Order of the Phoenix in third. This series consistently keeps you hooked and won't let you go until the final chapter is complete.