The Watcher

Rating:
Summary: THE USUAL DOSAGE
Review: There sure aren't a lot of great movies coming out these days, espesially in the "thriller" category. "The Watcher" bears this heavy burden. The movie is NOT awful, and it IS entertaining at key points, but at the same time it doesn't bring anything new or particularly interesting to the table either. It starts out quite unappealing but mid-way through becomes quite thrilling, but the ever-so-crucial climax is underwhelming. This is one of those movies that, ten minutes after you've seen it, you've already forgotten all about it. It's one of those movies that makes you wonder why it would be greenlit in the first place because of its complete lack of originality and wide appeal. James Spader DOES make a surprisingly good burnt out hero, and, without a doubt, he is the film's saving grace. Keanu Reeves is, as always, Keanu Reeves,except now he's got his long hair back and kills people. It's probably not something you'll regret spending a few hours to watch, but once you have it's doubtful that you will ever give it a second thought.

Rating:
Summary: For Keanu Reeves fans only
Review: This film feels more like a direct-to-video rather than a megaplex-worthy feature. This was probably originally billed as a James Spader movie, yet Keanu Reeves comes onto the scene and struggles to act the bad guy, alongside the other two, bit-part celebrities.

Keanu was originally never supposed to do this film. According to him, a friend faked his signature and signed the contract, forcing him to do the film for a much smaller actor's salary than he's used to. But thankfully for Keanu, his part as the bad guy, serial killer got extended, and he's in the movie a lot more than originally scripted.

Unfortunately, this movie comes across as being severely miscast. Keanu isn't really as evil as he was in The Gift, where he played another rare bad guy in his career. James Spader and Marisa Tomei are good in small doses, as supporting actors in other films, but they don't really light up the screen enough to succeed as lead actors.

There is virtually no suspense or insight in this and a lot of visual tricks are used to cover up what is lacking. It's pretty much known what is going to happen.

To give some of the plot away, this is one of the first films where Keanu dies. Sorry guys, but you know it's gonna happen, he's a serial killer. Of course, his character has never died in a movie, not that I know of anyway; I only have (unlucky) 13 of his films. Most of his earlier films haven't been released on DVD, and I suppose some of them I'll never get to see. I suppose you could technically say he died in Devil's Advocate, except afterwards it was like a dream, and it was what could have happened. And I suppose you could say he kinda died in the Matrix too.

What I really hate about Keanu - yes, me, I actually hate something about him - is that in Matrix, and a couple of other films, he's so lean and athletic looking, almost skinny. Or in Speed, with all those lovely muscles. But then in Chain Reaction, or The Watcher, The Gift, he's let himself go. The hair is all long and straggly, he's all chubby, and since he's hitting the big four oh this year, he's definitely going for the middle age spread. In these films, you can probably get an insight into the real Keanu - not cutting his hair, not looking after himself etc.

Nothing against James Spader or Marisa Tomei, but maybe if this film had more A-list stars in it, it might have been more of a success. Plus there are no extras on the DVD, not even a trailer (yikes!). If I'd known what it was like before I got it, then I probably wouldn't have bought it. But it's my 13th Keanu Reeves film, and it was only £3. Don't pay the full price for it.

Rating:
Summary: mediocra action movie
Review: I thought that the names Keanu Reeves and James Spader sounded quite promising for this movie, but in fact it is just an average action movie with a storyline you saw many times before. Many effects, but it's not really catching.

Rating:
Summary: Not Very Good But Quite Watchable
Review: Though The Watcher may be a very fun popcorn flick, it's missing some key ingredients in the make-up of a good thriller. The characters are flat, the acting is lame, the storyline is inconsistent and the plausibility, well there is none. Yet having written all that I can't say that this movie is really that bad. Afterall, it's hour and a half running time zips by faster than most forty minute episodes of CSI.

Keanu Reeves, despite being burried in the credits, is the star of this film as serial killer David Allen Griffith. He's a watcher (thus the title) who targets introverted young women and strangles them with a piano wire. And as it turns out his greatest pleasure is not in perpetrating the act itself but in the torment he inflicts on the federal agent working his case.

James Spader (as intense as ever) plays Joel Campbell, the L.A. lawman and object of this killers twisted obsession. But when push comes to shove Joel cracks under the pressure and moves to Chicago to get away from the killings, only to discover months later that his past has caught up with him.

David follows him to the Windy City and begins sending him pictures of his intended victims, daring him to try and find them before he strikes again. By doing this he imposes onto Joel the pain of having had the opportunity to save these girls lives only to blame himself when he fails. It's actually a pretty clever premise but is executed is such a way that the filmmakers seem more intent on going through the motions than having fun with the concept.

As the story continues to unravel, we're introduced in passing to Joel's psychatrist, who because she's played by Marisa Tomei, we know will play a large part in the film's conclusion. It's only too obvious and first time director Joe Charbanic seems intent on letting his audience get ahead of him. That's the movie's biggest flaw, that it tips it's hat too soon and, conversely, can't manage to build suspense. As we're engaged in a race-against-time car chase we already know what's going to happen because the killer can't very well be caught an hour into the picture.

I suspect this is material that would have been better suited to a veteran director and some tweaking in the casting department. Reeves' over-the-top performance is at times chilling but mostly ridiculous. He seems to shy away from the underlying homosexual themes of his character's relationship with Spader's. That wouldn't have been a bad thing necessarily except that was his only interesting characteristic.

Marisa Tomei on the other hand, is subdued in her performance, a role seemingly custom-made for Lorraine Bracco to reprise her role on The Sopranos. It's obviously been too long since My Cousin Vinney, for which she won the Oscar for (and deserved it too). I only hope she has more discretion when it comes to choosing future projects.

And she's not even the only actor to have their talents put to waste. Ernie Hudson is reduced to a bit part here, and even when he does manage to elbow his way onto the screen for some face time, it's usually just to clench his jowl and look angry. Chris Ellis is another one, an actor good enough to go unnoticed in box office hits like Armageddom and Godzilla, but this time is saddled with lines of dialogue so bad he's practically got a bullseye painted on his back.

I can't help but admit I found this movie at least mildly entertaining. Still, for all it's good qualities there are a half dozen bad ones and I can't in good conscious recommend it when such contemporary classics as Manhunter and Vampires Kiss have gone widely unwatched.

All in all, it's a decent movie that may be worth your time but definately is not worth your nine dollars.

Rating:
Summary: WORTH WATCHING FOR SUSPENSE
Review: The stars of THE WATCHER have had interesting and varied careers. James Spader who burst on the scene in SEX LIES AND VIDEOTAPE and then went on to such flicks as SUPER NOVA, JACK'S BACK and the current tv series THE PRACTICE, plays Joel Campbell with a sense of emotional detachment and fierce reserve. He's almost like a powder keg waiting to erupt. For me, there was no cathartic eruption, and I felt Campbell should have been played by a more intense and complex actor, say like Sean Penn or Colin Farrell. Even so, Spader is effective in those scenes where this detachment works. He just doesn't bring any real intensity to his performance.
Keanu Reeves, ah, what can one say about this attractive if dramatically challenged thespian? Think of him in BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE...or DANGEROUS LIAISONS or BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA...or most all of his films. As animated as a cucumber. But, there is hope, I think. While far from great in this role, he does bring a lot of life to his role, which is surprisingly underwritten. But if he can achieve this type of talent as also displayed in THE GIFT, Keanu may become an actor yet.
Marisa Tomei of course won everyone's puzzled surprise when she won an Oscar for MY COUSIN VINNY. Remember---they even said that the actor presenting the award read the wrong name. Well, Marisa remained dormant for a while until she came back with her strong Oscar nominated performance for IN THE BEDROOM. Alas and alack, there's not much Tomei does in this role. Embarassingly underwritten, Tomei serves little purpose and shows little emotion in this psychiatrist role.
With all that in mind, it's still a very entertaining, tense serial killer thriller. The victims are all worth feeling for, and Reeves' brutal nonchalance is chilling. Joe Cherbanic's direction is erratically captivating and Marco Baltremi's score is eclectically satisfying.
THE WATCHER is a good movie; it just could have been better with three other actors.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I thought this was an entertaining movie overall, with a few of those parts that make you wanna just scream at the characters not to do something. I love movies that can do that.

I also thought it was interesting to see Keanu Reeves in the part of a killer. It wasn't as intense as you'd probably think it'd be but still was plenty good enough for me. But draw your own conclusions...

Rating:
Summary: The Watcher Got Watched
Review: This movie was decent overall. It was capably acted, especially by Spader, whose ability to really breathe life into his characters shines through as usual. I could not help but feel sympathy for the hopelessly depressed and drugged central character. Marissa Tomei is also featured, acting well and looking very lovely without being sickeningly pretty, and coming off as both intelligent and caring in her part as psychologist to the battered protagonist. Three cheers for casting a competent and compelling actress in the lead female role. Keanu Reeves is satisfactorily creepy in his role as the killer (no spoilers, I promise, the viewer knows who the killer is from the beginning). The plot was a bit typical to the serial killer suspense genre, but nonetheless entertaining, and I did not lose interest at any point during the movie. Suspense was built up nicely and there was a pleasant element of continuity to the plot which made it quite easy to follow. There are a lot of flashbacks, which are a bit more drawn out than they need to be, but three more cheers for building up a background to this story. Technical aspects of the DVD were all satisfactory to me. In conclusion, this film was basically average but I give it four stars because when I ask myself, "Did I have a good time watching this movie?" my answer is, "Yes."

Rating:
Summary: Watch it!
Review: The Watcher is a movie that I surprisingly had high hopes for, even for the bad reviews, and the obvious miscast of Keanu Reeves. I was in the mood for a psychological thriller, and I got one. The Watcher was a good movie in many different aspects. The directing was superb. I have never heard of Joe Charbanic, let alone seen any of his movies. But I plan on checking some of his other movies out. He really knows how to mold and shape a film. The Cinematography was outstanding as well. Some of the scenery and camera angles left me in awe. The only hitch was the acting though. I thought everyone, especially James Spader, did an excellent job besides Keanu Reeves. Reeves is a good actor, don't get me wrong, it's just that this is not the role he is fit for. He didn't drag the movie down at all, but you had to think that maybe there are others actors out there that could have done the job more eloquently. Overall, The Watcher is a very entertaining movie that leaves you in shock at times. Don't base this movie on the reviews it got. Go watch it. 5 Stars

Rating:
Summary: Missed Opportunities
Review: You know when a movie boasts "and Keanu Reeves" you're in pretty big trouble.

Sometimes I go with the general flow when I put down actors. For example, Adam Sandler doesn't really bother me. He was perfect for "Happy Gilmore" (which I think is a great mindless comedy). But Keanu Reeves is one actor that I, personally, have never considered a great--much less good--actor. In "Bill and Ted" and "The Matrix" he's fine, yes, because he fits the parts given to him (new generation slackers)."Speed" is one of my all-time favorite action films, but not really because of Reeves himself.

The movies in which he is supposed to display true emotions--such as "Feeling Minnesota" or "A Walk in the Clouds"--are the ones that bother me, because I know that there are better actors putting on school plays who aren't getting paid--yet he's raking in the millions. Many of his dramatic roles are rather dry and laughable. When it comes to *real* roles, Keanu just fails miserably.

I'll explain why, since I'll probably get angry letters from "Matrix" fans and teenage girls with posters of him on their walls if I don't. My main problem with Reeves is that he's always the same. His face is always the same. His tone of voice. His expressions. His mannerisms. For the sake of comparison, imagine Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man." Now imagine Keanu Reeves trying to play Raymond Babbitt. See what I mean?

I've been observing Reeves since his days of "Bill and Ted," and my aunt adores him. I've been fed his movies for a long time. When I saw him in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," I thought he had talent. That he could really fit roles easily. Then I realized that he really WAS Ted, and that's when my expectations dropped.

But I don't want to turn this into a Keanu Reeves hating fest. The point of all those paragraphs is just an explanation of why I'm not a big fan of Mr. Keanu "Whoa" Reeves, or his dramatic cinematic ventures. I say that he should stay close to what he's good at (dumb slackers). But that's just me.

In "The Watcher," Keanu is a serial killer who toys around with an ex-FBI Agent (James Spader) whose lover Keanu killed years before in a fire. (Bad, Keanu, bad!) In fact, Joel Campbell (Spader) moved all the way to Chicago in order to escape his past, and even retired from the FBI.

Now David (Reeves) is back in Joel's life, sending him pictures of victims a day before they are to be murdered. He has twenty-four hours to find them before David does.

What a great premise. A pleasant twist on the serial killer routine, right? Err...no, not really. The direction feels like a long action-packed music video--from the opening titles blaring a loud Rob Zombie song to the end, complete with the stereotypical Killer's Point of View that was original in 1978 when John Carpenter's "Halloween" first invented it (and when it was indeed a very controversial filmmaking technique), but is now getting old since it's frequently being used incorrectly, particularly in the case of "The Watcher." Keanu's character seems to see things through some type of strobe music video vision--perhaps that explains his love of music in the film. "This is a good song," he says to one victim before strangling her.

In all honesty, "The Watcher" isn't really a truly "bad" movie (in fact, I've seen much worse), but if I had to pinpoint the problems with "The Watcher," it would be these three things:

1. Direction. Joe Charbanic, a first-time director with his outing in "The Watcher," proves that he should never get behind a camera ever again. As I mentioned before, there are just too many moments when I felt that I was watching some music video or product placement commercial instead of a smart serial killer film. Some people just aren't meant to get behind the wheel of a moving car. The same goes for a moving reel of footage.

2. The Script. What starts interesting and even compelling soon turns into a routine chase-the-killer film with extravagant car chases and bad character introductions. (Marisa Tomei's student psychiatrist is obviously there for two reasons--to fall in love with the hero and to be kidnapped by the villain. Take a wild guess if it happens or not.) In fact, this film had loads of potential to stand out amongst the rest of its kind by using the original plot--twenty-four hours to find the victim--but it is soon left forgotten and too many plot holes (why wouldn't the victim see herself on TV or on one of the millions of ads placed around Chicago?) are left unchecked.

3. The Acting. James Spader is at the very least marginally convincing as a gruff I-Don't-Care-Anymore cop, but he's no Martin Riggs. Instead, he comes off as a whiny, selfish little creep who likes to inject drugs into his body to get a momentary high. This is are hero, folks.

Also, is Keanu an invincible boogeyman or not? Lord knows that his mysterious character, David, is untouchable--he survives a foot chase without being seen, he manages to sneak past security cameras and cops and manages to kidnap/kill female victims; he survives a truly ludicrous car chase (that lowered my score for the film by a half a notch), gets shot, caught on fire, and STILL manages to jump out of a window on fire and into a lake? I half expected him to get up once more and give us all one last scare. Honestly, in "Halloween," the insinuations of Michael Myers' invincibility were more than hinted at. Here, we are left to wonder whether or not the killer is some type of supernatural force or not. The film is too eager to wrap all the loose ends up without digging deeper into the material.

Rating:
Summary: Reeves keeps this one alive
Review: Reeves makes this one work with his serial killer mood but Spader lets this one fall as the cop in search for him. and the movie runs out of steam after awhile but seeing Reeves with his piano wire and the finale is worth watching.