Michael's Movie Grade: B-
A tense and exciting if quite flawed thriller.
Where this movie best successeds is in creating a sense of suspense and unease. The sense of unease is firmly in place from the start of the film. Much of this comes not only from the dark subject matter but also from our main character (Denzel Washington). It is clear that whatever has happened in the past (something we are not immediately told) has taken its toll on this character's mental health. Though he can often appear to others as normal, we know that we are looking at a very damaged man, whose intentions we can never be sure of. Because of this we never know whether to trust this film's "protagonist" or not. This is not a part many actors could pull of but Denzel is a master at his craft and pulls it off to perfection. Jared Leto also does a very good job as a rather creepy suspect and adds just as much to the suspense in a part that feels tailor-made for him. Writer and director John Lee Hancock, once again shows us that he knows his way around a movie providing us with a lot of great traditional suspense moments. This movie also supplies us with some truly surprising plot turns.
This film does have its share of flaws as well. There are plenty moments that leave you wondering what the characters are thinking. At over 2 hours this movie feels a little padded and could have used some cutting. There are some bits of cliché dialogue. I also never felt I connected with or felt much towards one of the main characters, Jim (Rami Malek). Still despite these faults I found this to be an effective thriller.
A tense and exciting if quite flawed thriller.
Where this movie best successeds is in creating a sense of suspense and unease. The sense of unease is firmly in place from the start of the film. Much of this comes not only from the dark subject matter but also from our main character (Denzel Washington). It is clear that whatever has happened in the past (something we are not immediately told) has taken its toll on this character's mental health. Though he can often appear to others as normal, we know that we are looking at a very damaged man, whose intentions we can never be sure of. Because of this we never know whether to trust this film's "protagonist" or not. This is not a part many actors could pull of but Denzel is a master at his craft and pulls it off to perfection. Jared Leto also does a very good job as a rather creepy suspect and adds just as much to the suspense in a part that feels tailor-made for him. Writer and director John Lee Hancock, once again shows us that he knows his way around a movie providing us with a lot of great traditional suspense moments. This movie also supplies us with some truly surprising plot turns.
This film does have its share of flaws as well. There are plenty moments that leave you wondering what the characters are thinking. At over 2 hours this movie feels a little padded and could have used some cutting. There are some bits of cliché dialogue. I also never felt I connected with or felt much towards one of the main characters, Jim (Rami Malek). Still despite these faults I found this to be an effective thriller.
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