I thought this was going to be an OK movie but it didn't live up to it's early promise (or it's tag lines) and ended up being a very boring movie.
It's got one or two OK chase scenes & a bit of drama but there's not much else going on. The lead actor is a large part of the problem (he's barely there, maybe he was on tranqulisers or something to help him cope with this abysmal script) and the musical score is another problem. If you're trying to create an edgy thriller why on earth would you use music that would be more suitable for some mediocre schmaltzy sugary Hallmark tragic romance flick. That horrible "angelic choir" music completely destroyed any atmosphere this thinly drawn tale might have dredged up. But even with decent sound I don't think this would have been a whole lot better.
There's no mystery, no suspense and no thrills. The actor playing Johnathon did an OK job with what he had, which wasn't a lot. He was convincing at least. The PI was a stereotype. And there was some weird touchy feely stuff between the main dude and the PI that didn't really belong.
After the first interesting 20 mins the pacing drops to an excruciatingly slow amble and becomes much more of a drama than a thriller. I am not a big fan of drama - unless it's EXCEPTIONAL and deals with important stuff - which this isn't and doesn't'.
The ending just drags on forever with no particular purpose. In fact, it felt like they filmed half a dozen alternative "endings" but the director couldn't decide which one to use so he threw them all in. The final final ending was particularly boring and nonsensical. I also knew "whodunnit" pretty early on. There was no surprises for me. The only bright spot was the kid who played Dillon.
BUT I have given it 4 points because it's actually better than a lot of the mediocre stuff around - and that's not really saying much. I think it had an interesting story even if it wasn't portrayed well. I'd love to have seen what a more innovative & confident director with some decent actors could have made of it.
I can't say this is a great movie, not even sure it qualifies as "good" but it has it's OK points and it isn't a disaster. I didn't even fast forward any of it so that shows it at least held my interest (except maybe the end(s) when I started shuffling papers etc while it tried to find a point to finish on).
I DO think it's an excellent choice for say, a guy who wants a night in watching movies with his girlfriend (or vice versa) and can't work out whether to get a chick flick or a boys action/adventure/thriller movie. This will cover both of you, albeit in a not entirely satisfactory way. But if she likes sob-movies she'll probably like it. You can just watch the chase scenes and even score brownie points for offering to make drinks during the slow bits. :D (PS But not if she's a chick like me. In which case you'd be better off renting Suspiria or Ils)!!)
Not for serious fans of the genre or movie buffs but OK for a slow night/rainy afternoon popcorn fodder.
