BEFORE: You'd think the next obvious choice would be to follow up with another Tom Cruise movie, like "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol", right? But I've got a few killer-based films left, and I'm not ready to start my spy chain just yet - anyway, I've got another actor lead-in to that chain already planned. Anyway, that film doesn't seem available to me at a reasonable cost just yet, so I might have to skip it for now. Jeez, that was one of the top films of 2011, not 2012, and it's not on premium cable yet? I swear, if there's any rhyme or reason to when and how films get released in digital platforms, I sure can't fathom it.
So it's on with the original plan - finish the serial killer chain. Linking from "Jack Reacher", Robert Duvall was also in "Gone in 60 Seconds" with Angelina Jolie (last heard in "Kung Fu Panda 2").
THE PLOT: An FBI profiler is called in by French Canadian police to catch a serial killer who takes on the identity of each new victim.
AFTER: For me, this one comes down to believablity - do I believe that a serial killer can be motivated so much by a desire to not be himself that he will kill other people in order to take on their identities, in a method the film describes as similar to a hermit crab switching shells? Can a killer meet someone, spend a short time with them and learn their backstory and enough about them to replace them, mimicking their dress, posture and speech patterns? Even for a motivated crazy person, that seems like a lot of work - so, no, I'm not buying in.
The basic selection of victims would then seem to be based on a certain height and build - somebody who the killer could replace with minimal effort or basic disguises. I suppose then he'd have to move to another city, where nobody knew the victim, and start over. But what if he DID run into somebody who the victim once knew - I guess they'd be the next victim, but what if they were a different race or something?
Unless we're talking about some psychosis that runs so deep that the killer himself believes that he has become this new person - but then, wouldn't he forget he was a serial killer? So the premise only works up to a point. What you end up with here is a killer who, since he hasn't yet been seen first-hand by the cops, could be masquerading as anyone - yes, even THAT guy. Don't get me wrong, I like plot twists a lot, but I don't approve of fake-outs. And that's all I have to say about that.
In a genre that relies on investigative techniques and the processing of information, this film relies on key information conveniently not being available at particular times, because if the cops had a decent sketch of the perp, for example, all of the suspense would dissipate. If a particular witness answered a question with "Yes" or "No" (instead of say, remaining silent and walking away), something similar would happen. As a result, the seams are showing from where the plot got stitched together.
What I remember learning about facial recognition and identification is that there are certain things that never change - how far apart one's eyes are, cheekbone structure, etc. Police are trained to look past eye color, hair color, and facial hair to identify people - and unless the killer here has massive facial reconstructive surgery every time he kills, I don't think the premise holds up.
Also starring Ethan Hawke (last seen in "Brooklyn's Finest"), Kiefer Sutherland (last seen in "The Three Musketeers"), Gena Rowlands (last seen in "Once Around"), Olivier Martinez, Paul Dano (last heard in "Where the Wild Things Are").
RATING: 5 out of 10 family photos
"A Perfect Getaway" (2009 with Steve Zahn). Suggested for chain.
ReplyDeleteYou realize there is no proper protocol for adding films to my list? Nor is there a prize...
ReplyDeleteSince this project started with my attempt to get to the films I already had on hand at the start (combined with list #2 - classic films I wanted to add) the only guaranteed way to get a film added to list #1 is to hand me a copy...
It's not that I don't take suggestions, it's just that there are still a few movies that have been on the list since the start, and I'm really trying to clear them.
The killer/serial killer chain is coming to an end this week - so I'll take it under advisement, but unless some channel is actively running it, it may be hard to work it in. That being said, it looks like I may have a couple open slots, since I figured that "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and "The Bourne Legacy" would be available to me by now, and they're just not.
I'll check the $5 DVD store this afternoon, but I kinda promised myself I would stop shopping there. A trip there has a tendency to make my numbers move in the non-productive direction.