D-Tox

There are two things a thriller needs: a strong sense of atmosphere, and a competent level of character identification. "D-Tox" has neither. It's hard to care about, much less like, a bunch of characters if you can't remember their names.

FBI Agent Jake Malloy (Sylvester Stallone) is tracking down a killer who is picking off cops. After his girlfriend Mary (Dina Meyer) becomes the next victim, his boss (Charles S. Dutton) gets him to go to a rehab for cops who had seen one too many bad things in their profession. But the killer is not finished with Malloy yet...

I'd address the performances, but to be honest, no one is developed enough to make that really matter. The actors do what they can, but the script is to paper thin and director Jim Gillespe is so inept that it doesn't matter. That's a real shame, because the cast members aren't exactly no talent hacks. Sylvester Stallone, Charles S. Dutton, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Berenger, Courtney B. Vance, Robert Patrick, the late great Robert Prosky, Sean Patrick Flannery. All of these actors have talent, but they aren't allowed to utilize them. Polly Walker still manages to be great despite her limitations, and Sly Stallone actually acts.

Given its star power and its great premise, it's hard to imagine anyone screwing this up. With a talented director at the helm and a few re-writes, this could have been the second coming of "Halloween." Alas, we have Jim Gillespie, whose only notable mark on his resume is directing "I Know What You Did Last Summer." I'll admit that making a suspenseful film is hard to do, but Gillespie is totally clueless. He has absolutely EVERYTHING he could need at his disposal, but he isn't able to pull it together enough to make it any more than watchable.

There are worse things you could do with your time, but if you want to get creeped out, watch something else.