 The Watcher is one of the first (if not the first) movies in which Keanu Reeves plays an evil character. I think he pulled it off quite well. This movie is about a serial killer that executes each kill with perfection...leaving no traces at the crime scene, and no one can identify him. He follows a detective to Chicago from LA so that he can continue his "game."
Critics across the country have dogged this movie left and right. Though it doesn't reach Gladiator or Patriot standards by any means, I thought it was pretty decent. The serial killer idea has been run into the ground, but the director kept it somewhat fresh by putting in some creative, but by no means breakthrough camera work, good soundtrack, and your staple of action and suspense.
Because so many people hated this movie, let me talk about what was noticibly bad about this movie. First things first, there are countless events that are simply too unbelievable. Helicopters tracking guys running across rooftops suddenly disapear from the scene, city wide searches turn up no one until it is too late, and people cross paths without knowing each other is there. The acting is less than stellar, but it isn't all from Keanu. He didn't do a bad job. A big thing that I find irritating is that there is needless character development that does nothing for the plot. Out of nowhere, one character reveals something about another's past, and then it never comes up again. This is clearly the director's failed attempt at adding substance to his movie. I guess on a final note, it is way too "Hollywoodized."
This is a truely generic serial killer movie. In every way. Yet somehow, I still found it to be entertaining. This summer, I've found that it's best to see a movie not expecting much, because many times, you walk away feeling some satisfaction out of the 7-10 dollars that you spent on the ticket. This movie, along with Highlander and Hollowman surprised me, as I was expecting all three to be absolutely horrible. None of these come close to being Oscar winning films, mind you, but they had some entertainment value to them. Who knows, maybe I'm suffering from the repercussions of seeing The Nutty Professor II over a month ago.
Conclusion: 6.7/10.0 Not a horrible waste of money, if you're itching to see a movie. All in all, this summer's movie lineup has been under par, so I guess you have to take what you can get. |
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