The only thing of interest about the ugly, visually messy “Impostor” is an overriding irony. It was adapted from “The Impostor,” an early 1950s short story by Philip Kindred Dick (1928-82), who specialized in science fiction but who was much more interested in character than in technological gimmickry. The central character in the film has integrity, but any potential dimension in him or in the few other identified characters is sacrificed to an MTV nightmare of overly juiced technical effects, dark lighting of dank locations, and frenetic direction and editing. Dick also wrote the stories on which “Total Recall,” “Blade Runner” and the forthcoming “Minority Report” were based. “Impostor,” which has had more scheduled opening dates than the Tower of Pisa, is set in 2079 in a world that has no visual resemblance to the one we know (typical of sci-fi films today). Ethical government scientist Spencer Olham (Gary Sinise) is happily married to Dr. Maya Olham (Madeleine Stowe, second-billed in a smallish supporting role) and a best friend to co-worker Nelson Gittes (Tony Shalhoub). During a handshake with the stereotypically megalomaniacal Major Hathaway (Vincent D’Onofrio), Spencer is shot full of an immobilizing venom and prepared for torture and death. It seems that an enemy rocket penetrated the planet’s dome bearing a Spencer replicate that contains a bomb intended to kill a visiting chancellor. Spencer is accused of being an alien spy and of being treasonous – contradictory charges when you think of it. He protests that he’s real, volunteers memories only he could have, then escapes and spends more than an hour of screen time crawling through dreary sets. He’s the captive for a while of the cautious Cale (Mekhi Phifer), to whom he promises a cache of valuable hospital serums for help. We’ve seen the bare bones of the story a numbing quantity of times. It can only be trivialized by a futuristic setting in which characters are subordinated to a self-destructively trendy production design. Like recently opened “The Majestic,” “Impostor” labors to make itself a fable – the word “parable” would flatter it – about the Communist witchhunt of the late 1940s and early 1950s in which, the film notes, people were accused of being what they were not. It’s especially strange under the circumstances, then, that the film later seems to cancel out the theme it spends much time flouting. Scott Rosenberg, Ehren Kruger and David Twohy wrote the screenplay. Gary Fleder directed. Some very good actors can look forward to nothing but better showcases ahead.

‘Impostor’

Director: Gary Fleder Stars: Gary Sinise, Mekhi Phifer, Vincent D’Onofrio MPAA Rating: PG-13, for intense sci-fi violence, some sensuality and language

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