The Watcher

A prevailing thought while viewing The Watcher was that Keanu Reeves is an odd choice to play a lone wolf serial killer, but he actually suits it pretty well. The film itself is muddy and middle of the road, pitting haggard big city cop James Spader against Reeves's beast who takes extreme pleasure in taunting him at every turn. This gets so bad that poor Spader has a breakdown, loses all hope and moves to a different city half across the country. Reeves just can't seem to quit the game though, and follows him right over there for more murderous shenanigans. It's your classic 90's cop vs. killer tale, and for the most part it's not bad. The bleak, nocturnal nightscapes help Reeves creep around and nab his victims as well as provide an oppressive urban atmosphere. It's nice to see casting like this as far as the villain is concerned; so often these killers are played by eccentric, freaky looking character actors or go-to antagonist players, but by casting a golden boy leading man like Keanu they've upturned the trend and made the character more striking. Also, a chiselled babe like him is far more likely to believably lure off girls than some wild eyed, Gary Busey type you'd usually find here. Points for that too. The additional players add class, including Chris Ellis, Ernie Hudson and Marisa Tomei. This one won't go down in history simply because it's in dime-a-dozen territory. There's just too too many cop/killer films from back then, and if one of them doesn't have a key quality to make it stick and endure, it'll fade into obscurity, like Reeves receding back into the inky night after a fresh kill. It's not bad in itself though, if mostly just for him and the urban ambiance he stalks through.

Having failed to catch a serial killer who finally murdered a woman he had been sleeping with, Joel Campbell moves cities and lives his life on benefits suffering from migraines, heavily medicated most of the time. This painful but quiet life is shattered when the killer follows him to the city and begins a game of cat and mouse with him - sending him a picture of a woman 24 hours before he kills her. Joel rejoins the police in an effort to save his potential victims as well as catching him.

I, like many others, wasn't too bothered by this film when it was released - it looked like it would be yet another serial killer movie, and it was! The plot requires the usual gimmick and here it is the old chestnut of the cop and bad guy needing each other and the killer having a sort of respect and need for his pursuer. None of the film will surprise you but it still moves forward reasonably quickly without being dull and it is reasonably enjoyable. The action scenes are not great and the film never really has a real air of menace or tension, but it is still slick enough to watch - even if it is almost impossible to be emotionally involved.

The director managed to get his timing right to get Reeves in the midst of a reasonable cast; he shot a few videos for Reeves' band years prior in exchange for Reeves doing this film which, despite hitting it big with The Matrix, was a promise he honoured. However as a director his music video roots are heavily showing here with far too many flashy visual tricks that stick out from the body of the film and actually take away more than they bring. However, getting Reeves was worth him having the chair for his star does surprisingly well to step out of his Neo role and into a mean, playful role. No, he's not doing anything different with it from anyone else who plays this type of serial killer role but he is still charismatic enough to make a difference. Spader is also pretty good and has more to work with than Reeves, but Tomsei is almost totally wasted with very little to do to justify such a well known actress. To be honest none of them have much to work with above the norm, but they still add to the film by their names.

Overall I did quite enjoy the film but I will be the first to admit that it was nothing new and really didn't do anything different or unusual with the basic premise and material. The director tries to liven it up a bit with the odd visual trick, but it only serves to make the film look a little desperate to be different. The end result is an average thriller that has a better than average cast (for this type of thing) and will pass the time without annoying you if you know what to expect.

I really wanted to like this movie. I really did. Some people don't like Keanu as an actor, but I love a lot of the movies he's done (Matrix, Street Kings, Speed, Bill & Ted, Constantine & Devil's Advocate off the top of my head). That being said, this movie could've been so much better if they had casted ANYONE ELSE as the villain. Keanu's acting style does not fit the role, and it ends up becoming a worm hole that sucks the movie down. Also, the end features a particularly horrible use of CGI (trust me, you'll know it when you see it) that would've been acceptable if it came out in the 80s or early 90s. But considering this came a few years after The Matrix, there's no excuse. I give it a 5/10 for the writing and good casting for 99% of the roles. In short, don't spend money on this one.

After being identified and harassed by the elusive serial killer David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), the distressed FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) moves to Chicago from Los Angeles in order to secure his own safety and peace of mind. However, tormented by the anguish of past failures, Campbell is unable to ameliorate his physical and mental health and his bruised existence is again challenged by Griffin's reappearance in Chicago. Amused and motivated by Campbell's compassion toward all female victims, Griffin (who spies on lonely women and then kills them) heightens the stakes of his hide-and-seek game with Campbell by sending him a photograph of the intended victim of the day, thus testing his ability to save her. However, when Griffin's final defiance involves Campbell's psychologist (Marisa Tomei), the two test each other's limits.

The Watcher follows its two main characters intimately, often detailing the mechanics of Griffin's moves through Campbell's point of view as an observer who must solve a mystery. By depicting Campbell's dependence on painkillers, for example, The Watcher successfully transmits the deteriorated mental and physical state of this protagonistic character. The Watcher is most intriguing when it attempts to portray a society that --through its indifference-- creates its own victims and delivers, so to speak, the loneliest and most vulnerable to their executioner. The Watcher uses this notion of people's unwillingness to help and builds its suspense by simultaneously emphasizing the protagonist's struggles to beat the murderer's deadline. Furthermore, The Watcher successfully defines both protagonist and antagonist as "the watcher" of the other, thus suggesting a somewhat sado-masochistic bond between the two. In spite of this success, The Watcher relies on an excess of repeated flashbacks in the form of highly stylized, often blurry, shots that depict Campbell's previous interaction with Griffin. This choice weakens The Watcher's attempts to establish realism around both characters' past connection, and loosens the otherwise tight pace of the plot.

The watcher hits on both a realistic level, and an entertaining level never before reached with a movie starring Keanu Reeves.

The relationship between the characters in the Watcher sets it apart from other serial killer movies. In fact, I would have liked another 15 minutes in the movie to bring out those relationships even more. I would have liked a little more elaboration on what happened in the past between James Spader and Keanu Reeves. Also, I wish the movie had shown part of the session between the Psychologist, played by Marisa Tomei, and the serial killer, played by Keanu Reeves. Marisa Tomei's facial reaction to Keanu Reeves' comment prior to the session was perfect. "Do clients come to see you because you are good or because you are very pretty." (Line by Reeves to Tomei - maybe not verbatum)

Keanu Reeves plays David Griffin very well. This is another example showing how Keanu Reeves can take any character and make it both believable and likeable to some extent. Both Reeves and Spader display the need for each other by the end of the film. Yes, I did detect at least a professional need by Spader for Reeves in the Watcher. So did Marisa Tomei I think. This movie had both a good balance of a crime drama, with the police and car chase scenes, and strong character development. My only complaint is like others have said on this board, I felt it was rushed.