El observador

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 Christian Bale have. James Spader comes off as his usual stale, boring self in a role that is way too oppressive for his capabilities.

"The Watcher" is a one-line script: it is predictable and the same situation is repeated over and over, sagging its line of tension. It concludes in a predicable, expected outcome that is explosive and action packed, but lacks a satisfying feeling we normally experience in this kind of movie. "The Watcher" is simply another serial killer picture made with the hopes of grossing millions of dollars, which probably explains why there are so many things wrong with it.

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.

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.

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.

"The Watcher" will not win any awards for originality and unpredictable storylines. This is not to say that "The Watcher" is a bad movie because it isn't.

I'm not huge fans of James Spader or Keanu Reeves; however, that didn't stop me from watching this film. I'm glad I went because not only did I enjoy this film, I have come to enjoy Spader and Reeves as actors.

Keanu Reeves takes a departure from his usual good guy persona to portray a serial killer. He does such a great job, I asked myself why was this the first movie he portrayed a villain because he was so good at it.

"The Watcher" offers nothing new in way of plot but it does have performances turned in by Reeves and Spader that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

While predictable, I was on the edge of my seat hoping certain scenes would not evolve the way they did; even though, I knew what was going to happen, it was enjoyable to watch how it would unfold. I found the methods that the serial killer used to be incredible because of the unique way he went about carrying them out.

Overall, "The Watcher was a movie that can be summed up in one word: EXCITING. I give this film a 7 out of 10.