Post by ryan on May 23, 2003 18:47:49 GMT -5
Well, I thought I'd post yet another review of a film I've recently seen. Thoughts? Opinions?
IDENTITY
Hmmm...what can I say about this film? Well-made, generally, but the plot is much less complicated than it should be and except for the anticlimax, it also gets a bit predictable.
The performances in this film were quite good. John Cusack was great as the brooding ex-cop-turned-limo driver, Amanda Peet was OK as the plucky lead heroine, Paris (except for her cheesy "I Know What You Did Last Summer" moment where she screams "What do you want? Come get us!" or something to that effect), Ray Liotta was pretty good, John C. McGinley was wonderful as usual as the stressed out, anal-retentive stepfather, Pruitt Taylor Vince was terrifying as a man about to be executed, who turns out to have more to do with the film than originally hoped, and Clea DuVall had the film's best performance, an emotional, depressing character.
The writing in this film is getting overrated up the ass. Once you get past the main "twist" to the story (which, under the assumption that the audience is too stupid to understand, is totally explained to us, something Hitchcock would have hated), the thing is very predictable (up until the admittedly clever anticlimactic sequence). The character development was good though, it really helped to bring the characters to life. The direction was excellent. James Mangold succeeded in creating a dark, scary, tense atmosphere where it seemed anything could happen, and I loved the backtracking scenes near the beginning where we saw just how everyone did end up at the hotel.
But I'll repeat, for a movie that's supposed to be wickedly clever, we're pretty insulted with a point-and-shoot twist that is completely and thoroughly explained, ruining a lot of fun that could be had here. It's largely good, and very creepy, but considering all the raves and good reviews, excuse me if I expected a little more...
7/10
IDENTITY
Hmmm...what can I say about this film? Well-made, generally, but the plot is much less complicated than it should be and except for the anticlimax, it also gets a bit predictable.
The performances in this film were quite good. John Cusack was great as the brooding ex-cop-turned-limo driver, Amanda Peet was OK as the plucky lead heroine, Paris (except for her cheesy "I Know What You Did Last Summer" moment where she screams "What do you want? Come get us!" or something to that effect), Ray Liotta was pretty good, John C. McGinley was wonderful as usual as the stressed out, anal-retentive stepfather, Pruitt Taylor Vince was terrifying as a man about to be executed, who turns out to have more to do with the film than originally hoped, and Clea DuVall had the film's best performance, an emotional, depressing character.
The writing in this film is getting overrated up the ass. Once you get past the main "twist" to the story (which, under the assumption that the audience is too stupid to understand, is totally explained to us, something Hitchcock would have hated), the thing is very predictable (up until the admittedly clever anticlimactic sequence). The character development was good though, it really helped to bring the characters to life. The direction was excellent. James Mangold succeeded in creating a dark, scary, tense atmosphere where it seemed anything could happen, and I loved the backtracking scenes near the beginning where we saw just how everyone did end up at the hotel.
But I'll repeat, for a movie that's supposed to be wickedly clever, we're pretty insulted with a point-and-shoot twist that is completely and thoroughly explained, ruining a lot of fun that could be had here. It's largely good, and very creepy, but considering all the raves and good reviews, excuse me if I expected a little more...
7/10