The Watcher

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.

Enjoyed this film.James Spader...love him. Can't go wrong with him or Marissa Tomei and also always enjoy Keanu Reeves

A thrilling and nail-biting movie that falls little by little , resulting to be more vapid, unexciting and pointless over and over . Retired FBI Special Agent Joel Campbell : James Spader, lives in Chicago, where he is struggling to come to terms with his failure to capture a serial killer back when he was working in Los Angeles . Campbell attends therapy sessions with Dr. Polly Beilman : Marisa Tomei , but otherwise has no other friends or social life. Then the serial killer , voyeuristic strangler Keanu Reeves following the burnt-out Spader to Chicago and resumes his grisly activities , as he believes that they have a vitalising Yin and Yang type relationship , so he starts sending Spader photos of his intented victims , 24 hours in advance . Along the way, Spader takes the bait , cleans up his act and discovers new meaning in his life . Leaves clues for burned-out FBI agent Spader as to who his next victim will be so Spader will get back in the game ! . Don't go home alone !. Someone wants to play !.

Based on on the regular premise about a serial killer , whose obsession is with their victims , as the serial murderer has resurrected sending him pictures of his next victim , also like to play cat and mouse games with the cop . It begins with a direct-to-video feel , adding a story cribbed from ordinary serial killer thrillers , throw in a bunch of glimmer visual effects and Keanu's hysterical line readings and you've got a night of talking back to the TV usual style . A predictable and unpleasant action movie in which the same situations are repeated over and over . It is ridiculous enough , but that's half the fun. So-so interpretations from Keanu Reeves overacting as a nasty series murderer , James Spader as the haunted ex-cop and Marisa Tomei as the lonely shrink who unwittingly offers psychoanalitic solace to both cop and killer .

Veteran cinematographer Michael Chapman gives unearned class to the environment , though providing a very dark and sinister atmosphere . While expert composer Marco Beltrani attempts to crank up the intrigue and suspense level . The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Joe Charbanic , as he directs with penchant for MTV style flashbacks and shaky-cam murderer's eye shots merely induce headaches . Joe is a producer and director, known for Haunted Ship and Lost and Found and this his film debut : The watcher (2000). Rating : 4.5/10. Average , only for hardcore fans of the three great actors : Keanu Reeves , James Spader and Marisa Tomei.

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.

Joel Campbell (James Spader) and David Griffin (Keanu Reeves) are like binary stars that revolve around a common center of gravity. Each man needs the other for a sense of identity. They function as a single entity, even though their motives are in moral opposition. Actually, it's a rather tired film concept.

In Chicago, Campbell introduces the story premise about serial killer Griffin who preys on young women, and uses his killings as a game to be played out with Campbell, who has no choice but to participate. The film's structure relies on tons of flashbacks to Campbell's previous involvement with the killer in California.

The main problem here is that the film's plot depends on multiple film clichés. You've got your standard police chase scenes with flashing lights and screeching tires. You've got your standard melodramatic TV news, repeated over and over and over. You've got a killer who can miraculously overcome every obstacle thrown at him. The film's final twenty minutes are nothing but a string of cinematic clichés.

You get the feeling that the filmmakers used a tried-and-true money making film concept as a template, hurriedly wrote a script, then attached well-known box-office actors to rev up the financial bottom line, for quick megabucks. If that was their plan, I don't think it worked. For many viewers, including myself, the film comes across as stale, insipid, and uninspired.

The acting is not convincing. Both James Spader and Keanu Reeves sleepwalk through their roles, emotionally uninvolved. The casting of lovely Marisa Tomei as a psychiatrist is not credible, in a role meant for an older intellectual. But, of course, as a beautiful young woman, Tomei fits in nicely as a handy target for the killer. And the film's contemporary pumped up rock music I found irritating and distracting. The color cinematography is adequate, if conventional.

"The Watcher" is just one more cop and killer movie in a saturated genre. The film has nothing new or original to offer viewers. Maybe the two lead actors will be a tad more discerning next time when they select screenplay roles.