Not even a nude Angelina Jolie could spice up this movie
Written: Mar 15 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sound, editing
Cons: Acting, camera, cliched story
The Bottom Line: Go see Taking Lives on a rainy Saturday afternoon when you get bored watching the re-runs on TV Land.
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| NetDanzr's Full Review: Taking Lives |
Taking Lives is a run-of-the-mill thriller, with a fair share of dead and disfigured bodies, nudity and a few twists. Angelina Jolie plays an FBI agent who is invited by the Canadian authorities to help solve a murder. What seems like an ordinary case at the beginning quickly transforms into a hunt for a mass murderer. The only witness is a painter, played by Ethan Hawke, who is able to identify the culprit, even though it seems that the murderer likes to assume the identity of those he kills. What seems to be a pretty straightforward case, however, is later twisted in a predictable fashion, and before the movie reaches its final quarter you’ll know exactly who’s the bad guy.
The strength of the movie lies in its unorthodox editing. It seems that the director, who’d better known for his work on TV episodes of shows like The Shield and Smallville, knew that his story wasn’t too original and exciting, and so he decided to break the conventions in a different way. He used the music to heighten the tension, but never really delivered anything. Instead, the most innocent moments turned to real shockers, as he was able to surprise the audience over and over again. The show I went to was sold out, and the people loudly and collectively gasped at every such moment.
Unfortunately, the director seems to have been star struck with his performers, and he left them too much freedom to overdo their parts. Or maybe that’s how he wanted it... Either way, the result is that all the characters are extremely one-dimensional, which is especially disturbing in Jolie’s and Hawke’s case, as they go through significant emotional changes. Jolie starts as a hardened woman who goes to sleep while looking at pictures of dead bodies, but quickly breaks down so completely that you’d think she escaped from a mental institution. Hawke fares only slightly better, but he misfires by being a little too convincing when some uncertainty would be more natural. The sex scene between the two of them contains such an obviously cliched nudity that I’d feel offended if I were either of them.
The other actors don’t fare much better. Kiefer Sutherland has a too small a role to play, and he doesn’t get the chance to develop his character. Oliver Martinez, so good in Unfaithful, is the most one-dimensional character of them all, and it looks like he was contractually tied to make his character as bland as possible. The veteran actor Tcheky Karyo just repeated his role of a mentor, but he didn’t get the chance to develop, either.
As far as the presentation goes, it’s a mixed bag. The sound really draws you in, and it is used to great effect. Cinematics, on the other hand, are worthy of another episode of CSI, which is partially caused by the subject matter, but partially also by pure laziness. Especially rain scenes look quite unreal. Probably the only people who’d be happy with the camera will be the Montreal tourist bureau, as there are a few nice shots of the city.
All in all, Taking Lives is a mediocre thriller. I grew to expect more from Jolie and Hawke, as well as from the support cast, and I was sorely disappointed. Jolie was almost as cartoonish as in Tomb Raider, but without the charm, and Hawke got a little lazy, thinking that all he needed was charm. The few shocking scenes are worth the matinee price, but the movie is nowhere the level of such classics as The Silence of the Lambs or Seven.
Recommended:
Yes
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NetDanzr
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