Rating: 
Summary: The world is either great or wretched, isn't it?
Review: Comedy? Thriller? Suspense? I guess that these are all words or genres that you could use to describe this film. I would use these words if I wanted to gloss over the true feeling of this film. I would use these words if I had to sell this wallow-some film to a distributor who didn't know any better. I would use these words lightly, because if I ever believed them the battle would be forever lost. This was not a comedy. It was not a thriller. It definitely was not a suspense. So, what was it? After viewing this film I came to the conclusion that The January Man reminded me of a puzzle put together by a two-year-old. While all the pieces were in the box to put together, sadly the infant size brain of the child chose to smash the pieces together instead of place them in corresponding orders. Thus, you have a jumbled mess with wedged pieces of what could have been an overall beautiful picture. With poor acting, a confusing plot that literally went nowhere and an ending that felt forced and premature, one can see that this puzzle is unfixable by even the best puzzler in the world. If I were those involved with the creation, I would definitely be ashamed.
To begin, what was wrong with the actors? Nobody seemed like they were giving 10% much less 50% of their effort for this film. Even the great ones like Keitel, Kline, and Sarandon felt like they were walking through the motions with equally confused eyes and hearts. Kline's New York accent faded in and out throughout the film giving us no glimpse of his actual character. His role was never fully defined, so the other half of the time that we watch him on screen we just don't care about him at all. This was one of the worst leading characters of all time. Thankfully, a completely miscast team that seemed more interested in the money than actually "acting" backs him up. Keitel was horrible in this film. I am a huge fan of his body of work, but in this one he walked, talked, and gave those emotionless eyes a rest. He provided nothing of value to this production. The same can be said about Sarandon, whose character seemed unfocused and undervalued, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who never really got her feet wet in Hollywood until Maid Marion arrived at her doorstep. Alan Rickman was wasted, as well as the one-leveled voices of Danny Aiello and Rod Steiger whose only direction from Pat O'Conner was to yell. In other words, if you are interested in seeing this film for the acting, you will be greatly disappointed.
Second, perhaps the acting can be overlooked by a strong story line? WRONG! This was the most convoluted script that I have ever seen Hollywood produce. We spend the first forty minutes learning about an event that happened two years ago that is never fully explained anyway. It reminded of those times that the teacher would say in class that we should all listen up because this wasn't going to be on the test. Then why bother. This set the spiraling downfall for the rest of the film. This unavailable information also lead to some pretty choppy chemistry between the actors. I never say Kline and Keitel as brothers. I never saw the relationship with Sarandon possible. In fact, now that I think about it, I didn't see any of the actors meshing well together because they were working with a script that was focused on all the wrong parts. Eventually, The January Man gets so caught up on this secondary story that we find ourselves rushed into an ending and a solution that seems laughable instead of plausible. We even have a villain that is so confusing that I don't even think he knew what he was doing in the film. The final thirty minutes of this film were the worst parts of this movie, second to all the parts before that. Whoever wrote this script must have just forgotten the basic rules of storytelling because nothing meshed well at all.
Finally, I would have to comment that the marketing for this film could feel like a cheated ticket to some filmgoers. After reading some reviews for this film, I was expecting to find myself chuckling out loud at the antics of Kevin Kline and his spin on the world of investigation. I was wrong. There was no humor in this film at all. Even when O'Conner tried to bring some in, it seemed forced and unhealthy. I must repeat, this is not a comedy. It even isn't really that suspenseful, nor is the thrilling aspect actually that thrilling. I must admit that whomever sold this film to a company under the guise that it was a comedy should be awarded the "Best Salesman of the Decade" award. Somebody believed this film was funny and even pasted a preview to it with the word "comedy" written all over it. Someone sold the company a broken product ... hook, line, and sinker. I just ask you to beware.
Overall, this film was horrible. From the poor acting, the cryptic story that needed some form of decoder ring to understand, the passionless actors, to the harshly branded word "comedy", January Man proves that not all films should be made and that an advanced screen process should be used regularly. I genuinely encourage you to skip this film. No good will come of you watching this mess. I promise.
Grade: * out of *****
Rating: 
Summary: Disagree With Maltin For Once
Review: For the first time I can remember, I have to disagree with Leonard Maltin about a movie. Janurary Man is a good movie, in my opinion, for the very reasons that he says it isn't. The comedic parts are funny, but don't overlap into the more dramatic areas of the story and vice versa. Kevin Kline (one of my favorites) does his usual outstanding job, but Alan Rickman steals this movie. I'm not one to advise on movies....each person's tastes are different, and thank the Maker for that, but rent it...watch it...then decide for yourself. My highest rating I can give any movie is the following....."I'd buy the DVD!". The Janurary Man is one of these.
Rating:
Summary: Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, two stars each.
Review: How can a movie go wrong with Kevin Kline and Susan Sarandon in lead roles? For this movie, apart from the solid performance of these two topnotch actors, I think the plot also deserves some credit, it builds up just enough suspense to keep me guessing and tingling to the end -- exactly the way I felt with mystery hits like "Kiss The Girls", "The Bone Collector", "Presumed Innocent" etc... Let's just bear in mind that what Kevin Kline offers here is completely different from his widely acclaimed, even Oscar-winning, roles ("The Big Chill" or "A Fish Called Wanda"), and that would only got us to admire his amazing versatility even more.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story Line!
Review: I became reacquainted with "January Man" recently and forgot what a good film it is. With Oscar winners, Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon and an excellent supporting cast including Rod Steiger, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Danny Aiello and Harvey Keitel and a great script, director Pat Connor had an easy task of producing a great film. With a touch of comic relief between the suspense and the strong rivalry between brothers (Kline and Keitel), Keitel is forced by the Mayor (Steiger) to rehired his brother (Kline) as the lead investigator to find and stop a serial killer. Time is running out and the suspense builds. Like the Bone Collector, the January Man will challenge the viewer until the end. You'll find the January Man more challenging to solve than most mysteries, but keep in mind the clues are in front of you, including its title. If you enjoy a good mystery, January Man is worth the time. Rated R for a sex scene, brief nudity and violence.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story Line!
Review: I became reacquainted with "January Man" recently and forgot what a good film it is. With Oscar winners, Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon and an excellent supporting cast including Rod Steiger, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Danny Aiello and Harvey Keitel and a great script, director Pat Connor had an easy task of producing a great film. With a touch of comic relief between the suspense and the strong rivalry between brothers (Kline and Keitel), Keitel is forced by the Mayor (Steiger) to rehired his brother (Kline) as the lead investigator to find and stop a serial killer. Time is running out and the suspense builds. Like the Bone Collector, the January Man will challenge the viewer until the end. You'll find the January Man more challenging to solve than most mysteries, but keep in mind the clues are in front of you, including its title. If you enjoy a good mystery, January Man is worth the time. Rated R for a sex scene, brief nudity and violence.
Rating: 
Summary: How come this didn't work better?
Review: I ordered this, because I don't remember seeing it in Finland and because of the great actors. I mean: Kevin Kline, Harvey Keitel AND Alan Rickman! What more could a grown woman want?The movie uses clichés with a twist: a heroic but difficult cop (Kline) who has been unjustly sacked and is now a fireman, but - being a genius in his work - gets called back to solve mysterious killings. Of course, the police department is against the idea. But there is no choice and he starts to work in his own terms, for instance bringing along an assistant, a moody artist (Rickman in a part where he speaks very little, which is always a shame). Brother (Keitel) isn't too thrilled either, because they still love the same woman (Sarandon). Mayor's daughter (Mastrantonio) gets sucked in, because her friend is murdered. The movie has all the elements of comedy, humour, suspense and good actors and actresses - and still it misses something. Kline is fine as always and even in this small part Rickman makes an impression and it's hard to point out any flaws - but still it doesn't work as well as it could have. Anyway, the movie is entertaining, not bad at all. Harmless fun with a couple of original jokes. Kline's cooking is very odd and Rickman's use of models even more personal.
Rating:
Summary: Great who-done-it
Review: I read a review from a man who thought this was bad acting and all but Kevin Klein didn't know what they were doing. BOY is he off base. This is a great movie, with Klein in a different role than he is usually in. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A major disappointment
Review: It's obvious that Kevin Kline was trying to capitalize on his success in "A Fish Called Wanda" when he signed on to play the lead in "The January Man." Sadly, the success isn't repeated. Kline, inspired as the crazy hit-man in "Fish," is singularly uninspired as the offbeat cop in "January." This is a cast with tons of promise, but with little plot and less script to aid them. Alan Rickman's character is potentially the most interesting, but even he lacks dimension. After flopping in the departments of comedy and romance, the only possible salvation for "The January Man" is its potential as a thriller. Kline does have just enough charisma to possible keep you watching all 97 dreary minutes. But beware: the ending is a complete disappointment and left me angry -- both at Kline and Co. for producing this mind-numbing junk, and at myself for wasting both time and money on such a bad movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Improbable? Yes, but...
Review: It's the script that really brings this movie down. While the mystery itself is contrived and some of the acting is overplayed, the script is just pathetic. At least, that seems to be the only explanation for why this movie didn't work, since all of the actors have shown their talent elsewhere. I found it hard to immerse myself in the story when every other sentence was unbelievably stupid. There was one character, however, whose odd lines actually sounded right: Ed. Alan Rickman plays the eccentric artiste wonderfully, and the offbeat things he said didn't sound strange because the character himself was offbeat. Unfortunately, Ed is a man of few words. The story could have worked, but is instead undermined by the very weak script. One star for Alan Rickman as Ed, and another one for the chemistry between Rickman, Kline, and Mastrantonio. The trio's scenes together are the only ones worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Improbable? Yes, but...
Review: It's the script that really brings this movie down. While the mystery itself is contrived and some of the acting is overplayed, the script is just pathetic. At least, that seems to be the only explanation for why this movie didn't work, since all of the actors have shown their talent elsewhere. I found it hard to immerse myself in the story when every other sentence was unbelievably stupid. There was one character, however, whose odd lines actually sounded right: Ed. Alan Rickman plays the eccentric artiste wonderfully, and the offbeat things he said didn't sound strange because the character himself was offbeat. Unfortunately, Ed is a man of few words. The story could have worked, but is instead undermined by the very weak script. One star for Alan Rickman as Ed, and another one for the chemistry between Rickman, Kline, and Mastrantonio. The trio's scenes together are the only ones worth watching.
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