Movie Review : Taking Lives

This movie has been on our NetFlix queue for quite a while, so I'm not sure why I put on the list in the first place. I had heard very uneven reviews of it and it lived up to them for the most part.

The Good:

1. Cinematography - It was filmed in and around Montreal, Canada and the look and feel of the movie was great. It had the required eerie, dank feel to it that set a great mood for this type of movie.

2. Hmmm. Nothing else to add to this section.

The Bad:

1. Writing - Horrible. Plot inconsistencies ran rampant like Paul Clemmons at a rib eating contest. There were only two possible suspects, and Keifer Sutherland was obviously used as one because everyone just knows that Keifer Sutherland has to be the evil guy in any film he's in. You could see almost all the plot twists coming a mile (kilometer?) away.

2. Acting - The bad acting can mostly be blamed on the bad writing. Keifer Sutherland must have made out like a bandit on this film. He was barely in it long enough to qualify putting him in the credits. Hawke was decent. Angelina Jolie only really shined in the slightly odd sex scene which barely skirted the edge of pornography.

3. Plot - Huge holes. No real effort is made to explain why the serial killer started killing. Apparently bad things happened when he was young, but we never really find out what they were. Also, they mention DNA several times in the movie, but even basic testing would have blown the case wide open. There were two "plot twists" in the movie, and the final one is the only one you won't see coming from a mile away.

Overall, I'd avoid this movie unless you're a fan of the "spot the serial killer" variety of movies or you just have a real hankering to see Angelina Jolie in her birthday suit. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll weigh in with a 4, and that's with the 1 point that any female nudity adds to a movie.

Buy this DVD now from Amazon!