Shattered (2007)

A happy marriage formed by Neil Randall (Gerard Butler), executive of an advertisement agency and his spouse, Abby (Maria Bello) have the perfect existence and an early life in Chicago. With their lively young daughter, named Sophie, they are living the American dream . When the daughter is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to execute with the kidnapper's demands who appears with a gun on the backseat of their car. The abductor named Ryan (Pierce Brosnan), a calculating and cold psychopath, takes over their lives with the cruel efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose. Over the next twenty-four hours they are at the mercy of a criminal who wants only one thing, that they do his orders. It soon becomes clear that Tom's demands are all the more horrifying because he doesn't wish their money that is burnt.

This exciting picture is packed with suspense, thrills, mystery,tension and extraordinary plot twists.Tense and stirring film with a moving race against time. This Hichcockian movie deals about a successful executive and wife when their daughter is taken hostage and suffer a brutal blackmail. Gripping, original action movie with the main actors desperately trying to find out the means avoid his daughter to be murdered. Excellent thriller full of intrigue and tense, this is a fast-paced, stylized action-suspense film. The tension of this picture keeps snowballing as the clock ticks ever close for killing the daughter. The tale appear to unfold in real time and most unusual is the device of having the victim play desperado and hunt the killers, and saving his daughter , as time runs out. Casting is frankly magnificent, Gerard Butler as tormented father, Maria Bello as affected mummy and Pierce Brosnan, also producer, takes honors as a sociopath who attempts to turn the tables on the victim before he can free his daughter. Adequate musical score accompanying the action by Robert Duncan and inventively photographed by Ashley Rowe. The motion picture is stunningly directed by Mike Binder. He's a nice director working usually for television as ¨Moby Dick¨, ¨Sea wolf¨ ,¨Lorna Doone¨ and occasionally for cinema as ¨A good woman¨, ¨To kill a king¨ and of course ¨Butterfly on a wheel¨ his best movie. Rating : Good film, above average and worthwhile watching .

Fmovies: I had to speak out after seeing quite a few negative reviews. Especially to the ones that label this cliché and others who turn it off after 30min -- are you kidding me! I applaud the writer Morrissey here for trying to create something different and unique! It is. There are a few small issues (and one big one at the end) but for the most part very entertaining. The way I saw it is -- The Game/Fatal Attraction combination. I work in the business and as far as I'm concerned there are far far worse ones being made daily. I do see this one as a gem, if nothing else, for its courage to hang out something different. It won't change the world but there is meaning to be found for those pundits that say this an absolute mindless ... bad behavior can have consequences, and what about trust?? Something to think about.... For those that can't see the beauty in that you can always go rent "Dude Where's My Car" for intellectual fodder!

A normal married couple's life (Gerard Butler and Maria Bello) is thrown into turmoil when their daughter is kidnapped and the kidnapper (Pierce Brosnan) put's them through a series of brutal challenges and horrible experience, threatening to kill their daughter if they don't pass every challenge.

This is a gripping thrill ride that constantly makes you think what YOU would do in this situation and question why it's happening. There are very few clues throughout the movie as to why they have been specifically targeted by the kidnapper and there are a few roller-coaster twists at the end that are jaw-dropping.

It's a psychological thriller of note, with never-ending suspense. This is the problem. It's a constant torrent of "what are they going to do". It never relents nor gives a moment to breath. Consequently you become frustrated and irritated that the movie doesn't give you any answers. Eventually you're just waiting to find out what happens, rather than holding onto the edge of your seat.

Ultimately it lacks the balance of suspense versus relief of similar kidnap thrillers like Mel Gibson's Ransom. The suspense just turns to irritation However this film is well worth watching if you want a no-nonce thriller that requires little thinking on your part and don't mind that half the movie takes place in a car due to the small budget.

Shattered fmovies. It has been a while since i have seen a movie that i can't guess it's finally after the first 20-30 minutes....no more comments , just watch that movie.

I can't think at other comments that would not spoil the story but the damn guidelines are asking for minimum 10 lines....so.

The story is original, i can't remember to have seen this subject in a movie before, and the performance is almost perfect, the characters seem to be able to hide the motives behind their actions until the very last moment...contributing at the tension of the movie. In one word, i can't understand why so few people have voted for this movie...i vote rarely , but i could not stop myself to vote for this one

The producers of BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL (a/k/a SHATTERED in U.S.), didn't have enough faith in their project to seek widespread theatrical distribution of the finished film--even though it had GERARD BUTLER fresh from his box-office triumph in "300". Instead, they went a more direct route--directly to TV on TNT, which seems more like a last resort. Once again, a Gerard Butler film with limited distribution even though co-starred with PIERCE BROSNAN and MARIA BELLO.

Seeing it on TNT, it's understandable that the film had some problems in connecting with a larger audience. Brosnan's villain is below par for the actor and Butler has done better work elsewhere although he gives all his energy to the role of a distraught husband.

The plot is an elaborate cat-and-mouse game that Brosnan plays with the unlucky couple, Butler and Bello. While it does generate a certain amount of suspense, Brosnan's character remains an enigma for almost the whole story. Never once do we get a hint of why he's going to such extremes to torture the couple by demanding that they perform tasks at his bidding. A grungy looking Brosnan makes the villain a very unappetizing psychotic and we're never quite sure about Butler either, an ad agency man who gradually loses his swaggering overconfident manner.

Without giving away more of the plot (except to say that there is a mildly interesting twist toward the end followed by a double twist), the whole thing plays more like a made-for-TV movie than an actual film because none of the characters are more than one-dimensional despite the good acting. And the final scene between Butler and Bello is totally unbelievable as to motivation.

Summing up: Basically tricky and shallow at the core.

Every once in a while a movie comes along without any great fanfare, advance hype or viral marketing – a true sleeper, as it were – and causes the viewer to wonder how such a gem flew under the radar. Such is the case with Butterfly on a Wheel (released in North America under the title Shattered).

The title Butterfly on a Wheel, taken from the Alexander Pope's 1734 poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot", refers to someone putting massive effort into achieving something considered minor or unimportant, and is cryptically referred to at various points in the story and pretty much sums up the entire plot of this movie.

Gerard Butler plays Neil Randall, a Chicago advertising executive and rising star at his firm. He appears to have everything going for him. A boss who views him as the heir apparent, a loving wife, adoring moppet-headed daughter, nice house, car – he's living the American dream. That is until everything comes to a grinding halt when, on an outing with his wife (Maria Bello) they find themselves hijacked by Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan), a mysterious stranger who tells them his associate has their daughter captive and unless they wish to see her alive again, they must complete a series of arduous and cryptic challenges.

From there unfolds a cat and mouse game with Ryan's motives becoming ever more difficult to decipher as the movie progresses. With a plot peppered with enough red herrings to keep you guessing (I thought for sure I had it all figured out early on, only to be thrown for a loop), Butterfly on a Wheel/Shattered is paced to perfection, strongly acted by all three principals, and delivers a smart, almost too clever story.

What's more, it will leave you thinking about it long after viewing, and even motivating you to go over scenes again to try and find flaws, which may be there, but are very cleverly hidden.

While the media blitz that tends to foreshadow most movie releases undoubtedly benefits the film studios, in this case I can honestly say that knowing zero about this film going in actually worked in its favor, and has me marking it as one not to be missed.