Willed to Kill

Hmm. Don't know about 'Willed to Kill' but watching this may make you lose your will to live. It's the typical serial killer fare but somehow accomplishes the feat of being formulaic and implausible at the same time. Quite an achievement. First of all, it's full of totally lame (and I mean seriously limping) jokes and what the scriptwriters obviously believe is entertaining banter, which is entirely unamusing.

The lead character (a female detective) jumps from one wrong conclusion to another, going off gung ho and half-cocked whenever she has a lead, never telling anyone where she's going and quite often endangering herself and others in the process before finally, approximately two hours after the rest of us, working out who is really responsible.

The protagonist's stupidity is only surpassed by that of her colleagues who are continually pursuing even less likely suspects than she is. As a consequence, you soon lose interest in who did what or why. I think we're supposed to care about a possible romance between the two leads but as it is, they're so badly written, it's hard to give a damn.

Just seen that this movie was actually nominated for an award: Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series. Now that really is a mystery.

The clues are laid out thoughtfully through-out the investigation. Clues pointing to many different suspects until only 2 real suspects remain. Many red herrings and dead-ends add to the story and forces the viewer to re-think their conclusions. Everything adds-up, there are no hidden facts. The acting was adequate and the pace was very good. I did not see any glaring errors, that are often seen in these low-budget type movies. Everything was quite logically put together and the suspense built at good pace. A very good crossword style mystery. If you like Agatha Christie style who-dun-its, you should appreciate this movie. Definitely worth watching.

At first glance (if one was to be switching channels), this appears to be a normal cop film. However, within seconds, it is revealed that this flic is no more than a straight-to-tv movie that shouldn't be given any time. Though the plot seems interesting, a serial killer from decades past comes back and contacts the main investigator, the execution is absolutely horrendous. The acting cinematography were both abysmal, making it feel like a high-school production. Unfortunately, the TV I was using was able to block the ad breaks, giving my no release from this movie's dead-pan lines and egregiously bright scenes.

Truly a modern classic.

More than anything I dislike when I commit two (2) hours of my time only to find out that the suspect was the most obvious and that this so called "mystery film" was no mystery at all. The main character in this film is the gun toting Boston detective Karyn Mitchell, played with so little character by actress Sarah Jane Morris. I really wanted to enjoy a mystery/thriller that focuses in on a two decade old serial killer named the Hades serial killer. Unfortunately, as the potential suspects kept increasing the actual mystery of the film kept waning.

I appreciate that generally speaking, made for TV movies are made within limited time constraints and limited budgets. But why does this type of made for TV serial killer themed film(s) have to not only come with limited intrigue, but also limited acting?

I can only imagine how much more interesting this film would have been if someone like Maria Bello, or Kate Beckinsale had accepted the role of lead detective Karyn Mitchell. I can't blame the poor performance all on Sarah Jane Morris. There were other weak acting performances such as with the police forces psychiatrist Doctor Aaron Kade played boringly by actor Michael Riley, and also her love interest what's his name Mark Hanson (hard to remember what scenes he was in as they were the most boring......yaaaaaawwwn) played by Dylan Bruce.

Oh, and then came the silly ending when the brilliant detective Karyn Mitchell breaks the case wide open and she brazenly (they say brazen, I would say stupid) approaches her number one suspect without any backup and gets caught with her proverbial pants down (her gun is taken away from her) so we are supposed to be on the edge of our seat. I actually fell off of my chair and my fall woke me up, thus my applying to the Guinness book of records for the longest yawn.

The film Willed to Kill has a catchy title, and not much more going for it. I give it a 4/10 for at least trying to create some level of suspense but unfortunately it does not pass the mustard test.

This was quite lame. You will know who the killer is way before the ending. Also horrible acting from her boyfriend, partner, and FBI agent. Geeeze this was cheesy. Lead actress is promising with decent acting but her script didn't do her any favors.