Anton, naturally, excels; Ethan, seen as the loser, ends up working as a janitor for life. He desperately wants to be an astronaut, but is told by his father "the only way you'll ever see the inside of a spaceship is if you're cleaning it." But, as the old adage goes, where there's a will.....

How Vincent breaks out of his pre-ordained place in society makes for a gripping and ingenious story. Its theme is that anything is possible for someone absolutely committed to a goal -- no matter how unlikely it may seem.

It also points out that supposedly perfect people can still be flawed.

Yet another theme is the relationship between fathers and sons, and brothers, and what makes a friendship.

Gattaca is science fiction, but says so much about -- so much. Uma Thurman plays more than just a pretty sidekick, and the great Ernest Borgnine appears as Vincent's cleaning-crew boss. Jude Law, in his first big role as the "perfectly engineered" Jerome with whom Vincent swaps identities, almost walks away with the entire film, in my opinion.

I couldn't help but give Gattaca five stars -- it just deserved it.

Not a feelgood movie, in my opinion. I didn't think any of the characters were in any way portrayed as likeable. In the end, there was not much to the story either except for a little whodunit and 5 minutes of 'love interest'.

But, to repeat myself ... visually stunning.