Efeito Zero

This movie seemed to fall flat in many places. It opened slow and never really picked up a lot of steam. That being said, the story is engaging and very well-written. The dialogue, though...I thought the dialogue was a little poor. Jake Kasdan might be better served finding a screen writing partner to jazz up the dialogue. Maybe I'm a little spoiled by Monk (which I realize came later), but I didn't find the main character all that endearing. Mostly his traits were just annoying and not fully conceived--for instance the weird scene with him playing the guitar...which never comes up again. Why add in that particular moment unless it's going to play a part later on? The camera-work was excellent, with lots of long steady-cam shots. One place where I thought the film shone was in its use of music. I usually don't even notice the soundtrack, but on this one it really stood out as being well-selected. Ben Stiller usually bugs the crap out of me, but his performance was restrained and I actually liked him a lot more than Bill Pullman's detective character.

7/10

There is one thing that makes this film special and that is the persona of Daryl Zero. He is played in a spectacular way by Bill Pullman, who makes the script take life, making simple lines sound really funny and interesting!

Guy Ritchie probably copied a great many things from this film and from the way Pullman plays Daryl Zero in his Sherlock films with RDJ.

So yes, this is a film Sherlock-style with a detective and a sidekick investigating a case.

The dialogues are strong, the acting is strong by all the leads, the music score is very nice, and its definitely one of the 90s films that you will enjoy watching nowadays.

I have to say that I was surprised by Pullman; i had no idea he can act like that (judging him only from independence day and other mainstream films).

In this film he had an opportunity to make this character one of the coolest cinematic detectives I have seen.

Kudos to Jake Kasdan for directing and writing; this is solid film-making.

You can tell the enthusiasm in making this film by the camerawork, props, editing and ofcourse the delivery of the lines and the acting; all the actors are giving their best (and Ben Stiller is toned down to a normal person here...).

Highly recommended if you are looking to see something cool and funny. 9/10.

As soon as the "Zero Effect" finished, my wife and I turned to each other and said, "that's one of the best movies we've seen." Bill Pullman shows why he is one of the best, if often overlooked, actors. He plays the very private detective Daryl Zero who is uncannily insightful on the job, but otherwise is a mess. We laughed so hard at times that we had tears in our eyes. And it isn't just funny - there is a very well-woven story involving murder and blackmail.

For its cleerness, acting, story, and directing, I give it a solid "9" of "10", and one of my all-time favorites.

I used to work in a video store in the olden days, and this movie was a little known gem that I used to recommend to customers. I just rewatched it for the first time in a long, long time, and it still holds up.

Bill Pullman is a very underrated actor, and this film he totally steals the show as the reclusive, quirky but 'greatest detective in the world', Daryl Zero. He certainly suited the part in Zero Effect!

Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neal and Kim Dickens all provide great support in this different but interesting comedy. It had a very good story, some interesting social commentary and observation. Not quite a thriller but for its acute observation, realistic characters and storyline, Ill give this a ***1/2 out of *****!!!