The Watcher (2000)

The Watcher (2000)

Wow is this a terrible movie. It uses every worn out cliché in the psycho serial killer book. 1) It abuses women. 2) The cop in pursuit is a psychological wreck. 3) There is a taunting relationship between cop and killer. 4) There are deadlines and timetables. 5) There are car chases and explosions. And, to top it off:

Keanu Reeves is still a bad actor.

Luckily the leading male is not Reeves, but James Spader, who is decent (hence more than one star rating). The other billed actor is Marisa Tomei, who has a small and actually pretty dull role (she gets duller with every movie for some reason). Spader is not intense or psychologically tormented enough to make his role successful on its own, however. He's fine, but there isn't much to work with here.

Maybe the filmmakers knew they had a weak movie (though that does give them a lot of credit) because there are some face-saving gestures that also painfully fail, like inserts of jerky footage, or other footage in a digitally processed excess that ends up each time being one of Spader's dreams.

There is no love interest romance thing going on here. Just a cop chasing a wacko killer.

Do not, I repeat, do not watch this movie. Almost anything is more interesting, better filmed, better written, better acted.

Fmovies: James Spader in an outstanding performance as a cop tormented by many demons, both in his mind and on the other end of his telephone. Keanu Reeves is every woman's nightmare---a charming killer with the face of an angel and the soul of a demon. Tense, twisting plot, great ending. Gotta own it on DVD...satisfying for both men and women.

It's hard to decide what exactly is the worst thing about this attempt at a crime mystery movie: the jerky, indecisive cinematography; the intrusive "alternative" soundtrack; terrible acting; the completely cliched script or the general frustration one has in trying to watch this movie that is truly an insult to one's intelligence.

The story follows a burned-out, pill-popping ex-LAPD cop played straight out of the cliche handbook by James Spader. He relocates to Chicago where he lives in a terrible apartment, complete with an empty fridge and a water heater in the kitchen. He is haunted by the memories of a serial killer, who prayed on young women.

Keanu Reeves is that killer, and he follows him to Chicago, because apparentally he has nothing better to do, and he doesn't seem to have to work either. After taunting James Spader with two more young women who quickly become victims, and extending the movie length during the first forty minutes, Keanu finally makes it personal by targeting Spader's psychiatrist played by a confused, and noticeably weary, Marisa Tomei.

By this point, I was exasperated and shut the movie the off. Not only is this final chain of events so predictable, but soon after Keanu and James share an elevator ride together - after a flashback sequence indicated that Reeves had once targeted Spader's wife back in Los Angeles AND SPADER HAD SEEN HIM.

"The Watcher" is about as predictable, scary and haunting as a jack-in-the-box.

The Watcher fmovies. This dreadful film is one of the best examples available of Hollywood crap! In place of an intriguing plot, there is gee-whiz camera work. Instead of crisp dialogue, there are pointless shifts from positive images to negative colour. Instead of catchy drama, there is mindless and sensational violence and a head thumping soundtrack. Technically, it is well done. But then impressive high technology is not unique to movies. It's also used effectively in the processing of garbage, where this DVD most certainly will find its deserved fate.

I bought the DVD at a garage sale. Better had I spent my one (Canadian) dollar on the leaky ballpoint pen or the scratched up Mitch Miller LP.

THE WATCHER / (2000) ** (out of four)

By Blake French:

A serial killer wreaks havoc on a large city while playing mind games with an FBI agent who is desperately attempting to save his targets before they meet a horrifying death. Sound familiar? It should. Joe Charbanic's "The Watcher" is another rehearse in Hollywood's obsession with serial killer films that call for big stars and bloody murders. Just a few weeks ago, "Urban Legends: Final Cut" was released, also detailing a psychopath brutally murdering young adults while teasing potential victims with cruel gimmicks. I am getting very tired of the same old recycled material found in this kind of production.

All serial killer movies have a gimmick; this film's is the protagonist's involvement with the killer himself. The main character, Joel Campbell (James Spader), is an FBI agent who recently moved from Los Angeles to Chicago to escape the stress and recollections of his experiences tracking down psychotic murderers, specifically David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), who's trademark includes strangling young women with piano strings. Campbell's past has left him with severe migraine headaches and a dependency on prescription medication, both problems he and Dr. Polly Peilman (Marisa Tomei), a young psychiatrist, are trying to solve.

It isn't long before Griffin discovers Campbell and begins playing cat and mouse games again. Griffin mails Campbell a photo of his next victim and allows 24 hours for the police to find and rescue her. With the help of two other detectives, Hollis Mackey (Chris Ellis) and Mitch Casper (Robert Cicchini), Campbell is determined to bring down this mad man.

The movie is over the top in most elements. The style teases and interrogates, but is also boastful and distracting. The protagonist's personality is also exaggerated, supported by blunt dialogue (supporting character: "That is gonna be hard." Campbell: "Life is hard.") and filled with familiar clichés including personal tragedy involved with the killer and his own family. But the killer himself lacks successful development. The movie lazily introduces Griffin through voice-over narration and silhouetted images; we never really receive a description, but instead intuition and implications.

A big problem I had with the film is that many of its murder sequences consist of a brainless victim screaming helplessly instead of attempting to defend themselves. The victims stand out more than the main characters here, so they should have much more priority in their murder sequences. They also need further examination so we actually care about someone in the story. There is a lengthy, exciting, and suspenseful sequence in which a homeless young woman actually puts up a fight to escape the clutches of Griffin, developing tension and one of the most insinuating chase scenes all year. Too bad there were not more of this type of incident in "The Watcher."

The performances are actually better than the movie deserves, as is some of the suspense. Perhaps the biggest controversy found within this movie is Keanu Reeves playing a villain. After being in movies like "The Matrix" and "Speed," audiences come to expect him to save the day, not brutally murder women. As Griffin, he makes more of the character than the film provides; I liked his effective performance, although he does not include the psychotic touch that actors like Vince Vaughn and Chri

Really enjoyed this movie. It is not in the least bit predictable, as so many thrillers seem to be. Fast paced & lots of action. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Many threads are woven throughout and they tie up towards the end of the movie so that most of our questions are answered.

Casting is great. Spader, our hero, is far from perfect & his obsession with catching 'his' man has had a disasterous affect on his life. He is a complex character who is introducted to us in stages- as the story unravels so does his life.

Reeves surprises in his portrayal of a psycho serial killer. He plays this guy with an eerie realism that see him really well cast here. We hear so many poor reviews of this guy's acting but I can't figure it. He is really believable in this role and shows once again that he can take any character and 'become' him; whether it is Neo in the Matrix or the lovable Ted from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

We enter the world of the serial killer & get to see his version of our reality. We follow the agent in a chase against time to stop the madness.

This movie is not run of mill. It is different & provocative. I highly recommend it.