This is the second movie in a row I watched that did not do well critically or at the box office. It is also the second movie in a row where I liked it more than I thought I might. That is not to say this is a good one, however. Much of the negativity about the movie is well-deserved. I think only my love of Al Pacino kept me from joining the negative fray. Pacino plays Jack Gramm, a forensic psychiatrist who testified in a high-profile serial killer case. His testimony was considered to be instrumental in getting a conviction. Fast forward years later and the killer, Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), is slated to be executed. Gramm receives a phone call telling him he has 88 minutes to live and the game is afoot. It sounds like an interesting concept, similar to the film "D.O.A" with Dennis Quaid, but the execution falls short. For such a simple synopsis, the script is very convoluted, going all over the place, while still remaining predictable. It is so predictable that when you see the "culprit" for the first time, you immediately know that they are going to turn out to be the villain, despite the next hour and a half of trying to throw you off the trail. There is one sequence where Pacino breaks his cell phone, but then immediately gets another one without the broken cell phone ever being a factor in the plot. Why bother with the whole breaking of the cell phone in the first place? Even with all of that, though, I enjoyed watching Pacino and did not hate the film. With a great concept and a great actor, however, the movie should definitely have been much more riveting and certainly less silly. If you're a Pacino fan, give it a chance, but, otherwise, you will probably think I am nuts for even liking this at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment