For the first couple of minutes of this film it looked as if we were going to be treated to little more than a Keanu Reeves dance recital. How painful would that be! Thankfully, that bizarre dance-like scene didn't go on any longer than the first couple of minutes (although there was a mercifully brief reprise near the end.) The problem is that even with Keanu's dancing gone, the movie didn't get much better. It's another story about a serial killer (Reeves) playing a cat and mouse game with a cop (James Spader) that he develops something of an obsession with. In this case it's FBI agent Campbell, and in a ridiculous plot point, Campbell is haunted by his inability to catch the serial killer 3 years before in LA. He's now moved to Chicago, he's on disability, he's popping pills, he's suffering severe migraines, he's seeing a psychologist and - from what he tells her - he seems generally unable to function in life. So, of course, with that background and all those problems, when the killer suddenly reappears in Chicago, Campbell is not only asked to help with the case - he's put in charge of it! That makes sense! We spend a significant amount of time watching cops handing out posters with the picture of the killers' next victim on it - because part of his game is sending a picture of who he's going to kill to the cops and giving them a day to try to find her. The dialogue is pretty limited although the performances from Reeves and Spader were OK. There's a bit of a startling revelation when we find out why Campbell is really haunted by the LA murders (and, probably, why he moved to Chicago.) On the other hand, you can predict almost from the beginning that the psychologist (Marisa Tomei) will eventually be targeted and become the focal point of the final showdown. For a brief moment at the end, after the killer has thrown himself out a window and into Lake Michigan while he's on fire, I had a bit of a sinking feeling that this was going to be a "killer who should be dead refuses to die so that there can be a sequel" moment. Thank God there wasn't! 3/10
Review of The Watcher
