The Watcher

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

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.

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.

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.

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.