Shattered (2007) User Reviews

Had good potential

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 5 May 2014]

Abby (Maria Bello) and Neil Randall (Gerard Butler) seems to be the perfect couple in Chicago with a lovely daughter. He's climbing the corporate ladder. Neil is going to spend the weekend with his boss. Abby is going to see her sister Diane. They hire Helen Schriver from the agency to babysit Sophie for the night. On the drive to Diane, mysterious Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan) comes out of the backseat with a gun and news that Helen has already kidnapped their child. He starts telling them what to do like withdrawing all their cash but he throws it all into the river. He tells them to do what they're told for 24 hours and they'll have their girl back.

There is a lot of unnecessary breathlessness and yelling overacting. It's all intended to raise the tension, but it's too much of a movie thing. Gerard Butler is pushing too hard. His energy diffuses the tension rather than raise it. Quiet anger would be so much more effective. Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello are a little better. He does menace well and she's the loving wife. This has the potential for a good 3-person morality play, but director Mike Barker works overtime to pump up the artificial thrills. I was interested in the mystery of the true nature of the story, but I didn't particularly care about the people. The twist ending is fine but it needed a few more breadcrumbs laid out along the way. More hints about the ending would have made the ending more compelling.

The less you know of this film ... the more you will enjoy it!

[kenvandenbussche-2 · 7/10 · 10 October 2007]

Every now and then: the huge Hollywood-engine creates a small and simple film that turns out to be far superior than any gigantic blockbuster made that year. "Butterfly on a wheel" is such a film. It doesn't feature amazing explosions or overwhelming car chases or anything of that kind. It has marvelous actors playing colorful characters in a gripping storyline. These are only the very basic elements but this film uses them wisely. Unlike most thrillers however, this one doesn't take an awful lot of time to set the mood but moves at a high pace.

The split-second where this movie instantly changes from a soft-drama to a razor-sharp thriller is absolutely gorgeous ... it's a real shocker! And from that moment forth we have ourselves a nail-biting ride which'll keep you firmly on the edge of your seat until the very end. On top of that: this movie's great twist ending beautifully blurs the line between good and evil.

Pierce Brosnan has already proved to be much more than 007 and continues to do so here. Maria Bello became famous as the sexy waitress/dancer in "Coyote ugly" but over the years she became a fine actress. And Gerard Butler has fought side by side with Lara Croft and 300 of the bravest Greeks, but now this Scottish actor takes a break from this senseless violence and plays a more fragile role.

In short: "Butterfly on a wheel" is an intelligent cat-and-mouse-game that steadily becomes a first-rate thriller.

Good film. Solid performances. Twist ending.

[CuddlesMacombs · 6/10 · 29 July 2007]

Please keep in mind that I am one of a handful of people that saw this film ON THE BIG SCREEN IN A MOVIE THEATER instead of just on TNT, butchered for television, with commercial interruptions. It is much better the way it was intended to be seen. After seeing the film twice ON THE BIG SCREEN during its limited release, these are my comments:

Imagine a Yuppie Gerard Butler. Great looking. Confident. Successful. Gorgeous wife. Beautiful sweet daughter. The perfect life in upscale suburban Chicago. Enter mysterious menacing stalking stranger and their worst nightmare begins. He threatens the life of their daughter as insurance for their obedience to his demands.

Sound like the typical 'kidnapped kid' flick? It's not.

It's taut, suspenseful, edge of your seat storytelling combined with good solid performances by all, especially Bello and Brosnan. Butler is very good, but I've seen him better. I believe he filmed this on the heels of the grueling demands of 300 and it shows a bit. He may not be at the very top of his game here, but he still performs well.

Brosnan upped his credibility as an actor for me in this film. He played the menacing stranger perfectly. Just the right tone of voice and facial expressions, joined with his eyes and body language, spoke in unison to perfection in every scene. I'd really like to see more from him, he is a very good dramatic actor. I like him better as an older, mature man. More gritty, less suave.

Maria Bello is perfect as the mother held hostage by mother love and the need to protect her child at all costs.

I loved the score. Where you might expect a really intense, gritty score, this one opts for a quieter one with a hint of bluesy undertones and it works. It intensifies at the right moments, but never takes a front seat as often happens in thrillers. It melds with the action and helps makes each scene into an audiovisual, emotional emulsion.

In fact, the whole film is just quieter than one would expect, given what is usually served up with films of this genre. There are no car chases, no last minute rescues, no heroes. It never goes over the top. It has its feet on the ground and its eyes on what's human and real.

This film is no dud. Even though it had a very limited release, it is not the fault of the filmmakers or the actors. It is good movie-making. You may not think it's one of the best films you've ever seen, but there's a good chance you'll be satisfied that you got your money's worth. I give it a definite thumbs up.

Scale of 1-10? I give this an 8.

Warning: DON'T read much about this film. DON'T watch the trailer over and over. The less you know going in, the better your experience of it will be. Because of one seemingly innocuous remark made by someone who'd seen it, I guessed the ending about halfway through. I wasn't even trying. But things we hear stick in our minds whether we like it or not. I sincerely wish I had not guessed correctly. The rest of the film lost it's suspense for me.

Hint: This is a two timer. It's even better the second time.

Lots of holes but somehow entertaining

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 7 July 2013]

I have to say that in spite of myself, I enjoyed "Shattered," an offbeat thriller from 2007 starring Gerard Butler, Maria Bellow, and Pierce Brosnan.

"Shattered" is the story of a gorgeous couple, Butler and Bello, who have a beautiful little girl. Everything is perfect. He's very successful in his career and on the way up. He has an invitation to his boss' posh estate for the weekend, and it's believed there's a partnership about to be offered. She's planning on celebrating her birthday with a friend. A babysitter comes to the house to take care of the little girl. The couple goes off together.

They've been in the car chatting for a few minutes when a man (Brosnan) pops up in the back seat with a gun and threatens them and their child if they don't do exactly as he says. He basically plays mind games with them for the next hour-plus. The husband keeps wanting to defy him and the wife keeps calming him down for the sake of the little girl, since the sitter is connected to the criminal, and they're given to believe their daughter has been taken somewhere.

Okay, that's the basic plot.

My first question was, why wasn't the wife invited on the weekend? I found that strange from the get-go.

The entire time the couple was going through this mental torture, I didn't understand why they weren't smarter in trying to contact the police or someone who could help them. I was really angry.

I loved, loved, loved the first twist. The second twist, not so much. Someone here said it was a stretch. Boy, was it. Too much of a stretch.

It seems like every film has to have a twist today and with these thrillers there's competition to out-twist any other twist. This one went too far.

So to sum up, I'd say Shattered is both suspenseful and frustrating with good performances. It's a great rental. Don't know how I would have felt if I'd seen it in the theater.

Not quite Ransom

[tingnting · 7/10 · 18 April 2008]

A normal married couple's life (Gerard Butler and Maria Bello) is thrown into turmoil when their daughter is kidnapped and the kidnapper (Pierce Brosnan) put's them through a series of brutal challenges and horrible experience, threatening to kill their daughter if they don't pass every challenge.

This is a gripping thrill ride that constantly makes you think what YOU would do in this situation and question why it's happening. There are very few clues throughout the movie as to why they have been specifically targeted by the kidnapper and there are a few roller-coaster twists at the end that are jaw-dropping.

It's a psychological thriller of note, with never-ending suspense. This is the problem. It's a constant torrent of "what are they going to do". It never relents nor gives a moment to breath. Consequently you become frustrated and irritated that the movie doesn't give you any answers. Eventually you're just waiting to find out what happens, rather than holding onto the edge of your seat.

Ultimately it lacks the balance of suspense versus relief of similar kidnap thrillers like Mel Gibson's Ransom. The suspense just turns to irritation However this film is well worth watching if you want a no-nonce thriller that requires little thinking on your part and don't mind that half the movie takes place in a car due to the small budget.

Thrilling and suspenseful movie with a sensational Pierce Brosnan as relentless kidnapper

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 14 March 2010]

A happy marriage formed by Neil Randall (Gerard Butler), executive of an advertisement agency and his spouse, Abby (Maria Bello) have the perfect existence and an early life in Chicago. With their lively young daughter, named Sophie, they are living the American dream . When the daughter is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to execute with the kidnapper's demands who appears with a gun on the backseat of their car. The abductor named Ryan (Pierce Brosnan), a calculating and cold psychopath, takes over their lives with the cruel efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose. Over the next twenty-four hours they are at the mercy of a criminal who wants only one thing, that they do his orders. It soon becomes clear that Tom's demands are all the more horrifying because he doesn't wish their money that is burnt.

This exciting picture is packed with suspense, thrills, mystery,tension and extraordinary plot twists.Tense and stirring film with a moving race against time. This Hichcockian movie deals about a successful executive and wife when their daughter is taken hostage and suffer a brutal blackmail. Gripping, original action movie with the main actors desperately trying to find out the means avoid his daughter to be murdered. Excellent thriller full of intrigue and tense, this is a fast-paced, stylized action-suspense film. The tension of this picture keeps snowballing as the clock ticks ever close for killing the daughter. The tale appear to unfold in real time and most unusual is the device of having the victim play desperado and hunt the killers, and saving his daughter , as time runs out. Casting is frankly magnificent, Gerard Butler as tormented father, Maria Bello as affected mummy and Pierce Brosnan, also producer, takes honors as a sociopath who attempts to turn the tables on the victim before he can free his daughter. Adequate musical score accompanying the action by Robert Duncan and inventively photographed by Ashley Rowe. The motion picture is stunningly directed by Mike Binder. He's a nice director working usually for television as ¨Moby Dick¨, ¨Sea wolf¨ ,¨Lorna Doone¨ and occasionally for cinema as ¨A good woman¨, ¨To kill a king¨ and of course ¨Butterfly on a wheel¨ his best movie. Rating : Good film, above average and worthwhile watching .

Never pick a fight with someone who's got nothing to lose.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 9 November 2019]

Butterfly on a Wheel (AKA: Shattered) is directed by Mike Barker and written by William Morrissey. It stars Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello and Gerard Butler. Music is by Robert Duncan and cinematography by Ashley Rowe.

Butler and Bello play a seemingly happily married couple who have an adorable young daughter into the fold. Enter a rather sinister Brosnan who announces he has kidnapped the daughter and requires the couple to do everything he asks. Pressure is on then!?

Basically this is just real solid kidnap thriller film making, the kind that we were well served with back in the 1980s, and with that in mind this comes off like a throw back to that decade. Brosnan (how nice to see him doing a natural Irish brogue) grows ever more spiteful, while of course our handsome couple get more frantic.

But naturally there's a mystery going on here, we are left in no doubt about that there is something lurking beyond the edges of the frames. To which the inevitable twist, on which the whole pic's very being depends upon, will either make or break how you ultimately feel about the piece as a whole.

I liked it. 7/10

We Liked This Film A Lot

[kyndellsemail · 8/10 · 3 January 2008]

I'd never heard of this movie until it showed up on DVD sites a couple of weeks ago. Then I read the comments here and thought, "Pass." But there was not much to choose from the other night, and the suspense/mystery/thriller genre is my favotire these days, so ... I picked it up. Glad I did because my wife and I enjoyed the movie. Certainly not a GREAT film, but very good. I liked the story, the film was nice and short, good characters. And we loved the ending and the twists. They were very clever. Overall, a solid suspense drama. Too bad this film didn't get released. Saw 4, on the other hand, goes wide and makes a ton.

Pretty Great Thriller

[PhantomAgony · 23 February 2010]

I had heard about this movie from a friend who knows that I love Thrillers so I decided to rent it and check it out. Butterfly on a Wheel (also known as Shattered) was a pretty decent thriller with a twist that puts the pieces together as far as motive goes followed by another twist which one may or may not see as superfluous and unnecessary. I personally, liked both and this movie satisfied my Thriller needs..

Abby (Bello) and Neil (Butler) Randall are a happily married couple with a young daughter, Sophie. She is a stay at home Mother who wants to recapture her love of photography and he is a successful businessman who seems to be the go to Boss's man when it comes to sealing deals and landing accounts. The boss has invited Randall on a personal trip and Abby is hopeful that he may offer him partner. Meanwhile, Abby is going out with a friend for the evening and gets a babysitter for Sophie since she and Neil will be gone (him on the trip and she with a friend) - they leave together in the family car.

Everything is fine until out of no where Tom (Brosnan) pops up from the backseat of the car where he had been hiding with a gun and immediately makes it known that Abby and Neil better do what he says and what he wants or else Sophie is dead - implying that the sitter that arrived to care for her is in on the scheme with Tom.

From here on out it's a mind game with Tom making Abby and Neil do countless different things including doing to the bank, withdrawing all their savings and then once Tom gets the money, he sets it all on fire making the audience and the two main characters question his motive even more than before. Who is Tom? What does he want? What's the motive behind his madness? Who is really in on this plot? Does it have to do with Neil's business? Is someone jealous of his success?

All the answers are revealed in the last 30 minutes with an initial twist that puts the pieces together nicely... there IS motive which is always nice to see in a Thriller. However, there is another twist afterwards that was fine but I think the movie could have done without.

My one gripe was that, despite the 2 main characters having access to phones and often being allowed to roam free through the streets, initially neither contacted the police about their kidnapped daughter. However, the movie implies that Neil and Abby feel that she has been moved to an unknown location (rather than be at the house) which helps since if they contact the police, they may never find her.

7/10 Good Thriller - I'd recommend seeing it.

Web of Lies

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 12 October 2008]

In Chicago, the family man and executive of an advertisement agency Neil Randall (Gerard Butler) has a perfect life: he expects to be promoted in his job sooner; he has a beautiful and sexy wife, Abby (Maria Bello) and a lovely daughter, Sophie (Emma Karwandy); and he lives in a wonderful house. When Neil's boss Karl Granger (Peter Keleghan) invites him to spend the weekend in his cottage in the country, Abby hires a nanny for Sophie to spend the day with her sister Diane (Samantha Ferris). While driving Abby in his truck to meet Diane, a stranger (Pierce Brosnan) hidden on the backseat appears with a gun, and tells that he has kidnapped Sophie. He introduces himself as Ryan and demands that for twenty-four hours, the couple shall obey his orders, otherwise he would kill Sophie. While keeping the couple under his total control, he shows that he is a calculating sociopath with nothing to lose, with the intention of destroying Neil's perfect life.

"Butterfly on a Wheel" was a great surprise for me, with a tense story, tight and effective screenplay with unpredictable twists and stunning acting of Pierce Brosnan (he is awesome), Maria Bello and Gerard Butler. A friend of mine recommended this suspenseful thriller and I really enjoyed it. I could never expect the plot point in Karl's house, but the last twist in the conclusion was disappointing and quite hard to believe. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Encurralados" ("Trapped")

You get what you deserve...

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 12 May 2008]

MAJOR SPOILERS

As thrillers go, this one is pretty stupid. Gerard Butler plays Neil Randall a hot-shot advertising executive with a perfect family in the form of gorgeous Maria Bello and their young daughter. The thing is, Tom's a little too smug from the outset, which made me dislike him immediately. He goes through the motions of stepping aside to allow a colleague a stab at proving himself but, when his suggestion is turned down, chooses not to promote his colleague's talents to his boss. He also drives a 4x4 in the city, a sure indicator that the guy is as bankrupt of values as – it eventually turns out – he is scruples.

Into the Randall's picture-perfect life steps the mysterious stubble-chinned Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan) who, with sinister ease, adeptly picks apart the threads of their cosy existence. Ryan oozes menace with his weathered features and bog-Irish accent. Brosnan is actually quite good, even though his character's motives remain a mystery for most of the film and writer William Morrissey is unable to add any kind of dimension to his character. Brosnan's accent had me thinking Randall had somehow fallen foul of the IRA, but the truth is far more fantastical than that.

The trouble with films like these – and Nick of Time is the film that immediately springs to mind – is that the main characters are under such relentless pressure throughout that at no point during the film do they or the viewer have a chance to sit back and consider what has happened. It's all rush, rush, rush: withdraw their cash, find money for dinner, deliver an incriminating package, unravel cryptic riddles, keep the increasingly volatile Ryan placated, hunt for kidnapped daughter. After a half-hour of this it all starts becoming a little tiresome – and increasingly far-fetched.

After 90-minutes of cat-and-mouse escapades it turns out that the whole thing is an elaborate charade devised by wifey to get back at her errant husband for having an affair with his secretary – Ryan's wife. Most women would satisfy themselves with cutting up his suits and painting a few insults questioning his parentage on that big shiny Chelsea tractor of his, but that would really be just a little too true to life. Sounds like these two pretty much deserve each other if you ask me

Intelligent Thriller

[MelvynP · 8/10 · 29 November 2007]

When their happy lifestyle is suddenly interrupted and turned upside down by the forceful intrusion of a menacing kidnapper (Brosnan), Abby and Neil (Bello and Butler) are left with no choice but to follow the increasingly difficult demands and tests set them by this man. It's edge-of-the-seat stuff most of the way, with plenty of twists and turns and even when you get to that stage where you think you know all the answers, something else catches you off guard. The three leading actors all provide sound performances in this intelligent, edgy little thriller, with Brosnan proving yet again, because a lot of people seem not to have realised it before, that he really can act.

Love into hate, the impossible forgiveness & extreme professionalism

[mago1942 · 6/10 · 15 June 2009]

This film shows two people who were cowardly cheated by their spouses, who they respectively loved very much until they discovered the treachery; and, frustrated and enraged, they react planning and executing such a cruel vengeance. About this situation a first question catches our mind: Can love turn into hate? Would someone be able to submit to such an enormous distress someone who had been, until a few moments ago, his or her most significant love partner?

The relation between love and hate is a fertile area for debate, and a subject we can approach by more than one way. One of these is philosophy. For example, about this point we may refer to a Renaissance philosopher, Domenico Campanella (1568-1639), for whom power, knowledge and love may be very easily confounded with their contraries: power may turn into impotence; knowledge, into ignorance; and love, into hate.

Much more recently, French philosopher André Compte-Sponville, in his "A Short Treatise on the Great Virtues", also reveals his belief that love and hate are feelings that communicate with each other. Quoting him: "Eros is a jealous god. He who loves wants to possess his beloved and keep her for himself alone. If she is happy with someone else, you would rather see her dead! If he is happy with someone else, you would rather have him unhappy with you."

And, of course, we may also make use of poetry to reflect about this subject. Bengali poet Sri Chinmoy, for example, made theses verses: "Hate is a disguised form of love. / You can only hate someone that you have the capacity to love because if you are really indifferent, / you cannot even get up enough energy to hate him."

On the other hand, in her book "Walls of Corn and Other Poems", the American poet Ellen P. Allerton (1835-1893) included this "Love Hate Poem": "Although a thousand leagues two hearts divide, / That love has joined, the gulf is not so great / As that twixt two, who, dwelling side by side / Behold between, the black abyss of Hate."

A second question evoked by this film refers to the great difficulty people have to completely forgive someone for having inflicted him or her any kind of suffering. As to this question, we may reflect on the words of a Croatian theologian, also a professor in Yale University, Miroslav Volf: "Forgiveness is a gift", he says, "and if it is given, it is given freely. Forgiveness is the opposite of retaliation, but not the opposite of punishment." And he concludes: "Of course forgiving also means to let down the feeling of resentment towards the evil-doer."

The film ends before we can check if in each couple, Abby & Neil and Tom & Judy, the spouses actually reconcile or split apart from each other. However, taking into account Volf's words above, we may reasonably presume that in both cases reconciliation would be almost impossible: Abby will have to forgive Neil, and Tom, to forgive Judy before a reconciliation may happen, and in both marriages both sides have a lot of reasons to be resented with his/her spouse's attitude. Forgiveness is quite improbable in this context, because it would have to be a two-way forgiveness: if forgiveness and retaliation are opposites, as Volf says, it is easy to foresee that the fierce mortification Abby and Tom inflicted to Neil and Judy will nurture, from now on, nothing more than pure resentment, in Abby and Tom towards Neil and Judy, as well as vice-versa, ruining any chance of forgiveness in both couples.

A third and last question calls our attention in "Butterfly on a Wheel": it refers to the absolute coldness and the enviable competence with which Tom and Abby performed their devilish plan. Although very complex and rather dangerous, the whole operation they decided to implement was brilliantly executed all along, ending in a total success.

And, although their aim was deliberately hurt their spouses, to whom each of them, Abby and Tom, had been emotionally tied for many years, both were able, nevertheless, to put their feelings totally aside during the act, fulfilling an impeccable dramatic performance, which hit perfectly the target. Sincerely, only mafia members or psychos are really able to show such a high level of proficiency in the circumstances!

TNT premiere showing of "Shattered"...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 2 September 2007]

The producers of BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL (a/k/a SHATTERED in U.S.), didn't have enough faith in their project to seek widespread theatrical distribution of the finished film--even though it had GERARD BUTLER fresh from his box-office triumph in "300". Instead, they went a more direct route--directly to TV on TNT, which seems more like a last resort. Once again, a Gerard Butler film with limited distribution even though co-starred with PIERCE BROSNAN and MARIA BELLO.

Seeing it on TNT, it's understandable that the film had some problems in connecting with a larger audience. Brosnan's villain is below par for the actor and Butler has done better work elsewhere although he gives all his energy to the role of a distraught husband.

The plot is an elaborate cat-and-mouse game that Brosnan plays with the unlucky couple, Butler and Bello. While it does generate a certain amount of suspense, Brosnan's character remains an enigma for almost the whole story. Never once do we get a hint of why he's going to such extremes to torture the couple by demanding that they perform tasks at his bidding. A grungy looking Brosnan makes the villain a very unappetizing psychotic and we're never quite sure about Butler either, an ad agency man who gradually loses his swaggering overconfident manner.

Without giving away more of the plot (except to say that there is a mildly interesting twist toward the end followed by a double twist), the whole thing plays more like a made-for-TV movie than an actual film because none of the characters are more than one-dimensional despite the good acting. And the final scene between Butler and Bello is totally unbelievable as to motivation.

Summing up: Basically tricky and shallow at the core.

Enjoyed Pierce as the bad guy, decent thriller, great twist

[juneebuggy · 7/10 · 24 September 2014]

This was a pretty good suspense thriller, getting better as the story moved along and containing a hell of a twist at the end. Didn't see that coming.

Butler is (nice to look at) and does a decent job as a happy family man placed in a desperate situation, when a calculating sociopath (played brilliantly by Pierce Brosnan) kidnaps his young daughter and toys with his wife. At first the kidnappers demands seem standard (money) but they grow increasingly outlandish as the movie progresses until it becomes obvious that he simply enjoys the power that comes along with systematically dismantling their idyllic lives. The viewer is left wondering why until the very end.

Enjoyed Brosnan in this role as the bad guy and loved that he kept his Irish accent. Butler has a couple of very emotional scenes that impressed me too. Filmed in Vancouver as Chicago. 9/2/14

Can one spoil the plot if the plot's spoiled to begin with (read with caution)

[LeCadavreExquis · 23 October 2007]

This movie is the equivalent of shattering an already broken mirror. We are introduced to the happy, functioning family: Father's successful and climbing the corporate ladder in the advertising industry, while mom stays at home and takes care of cute-as-a-cupcake daughter. All is well...

(if you are really intent on going through the dissatisfaction of watching this movie and are as thick as brick, you shouldn't read any further)

...But right from the start we see father weaseling his way to the top, egotistically snatching away his colleagues' well deserved moment to shine from under their noses. We see father exchange an all too obvious glance with his secretary. We see mom holding a camera and longingly looking at photos she once took. We can overhear a conversation between mom and dad's secretary that seems casual, but carries the promise of becoming significant later on in the movie all too obviously.

If the writer or director - I'm guessing these are directorial decisions - had done a better job at concealing the cracks in the foundation of the perfect family-life facade in the beginning, maybe the shattered dreams at the end would have packed a slightly bigger punch. But half way into the movie we give up on the chance of this becoming anything remotely worth wile. And we masochistically watch the plot unfolding in more and more implausible ways, as the characters (read: plot-devices) propel it to its breathtakingly uninteresting, and actually insulting ending. Ultimately the only thing this movie shatters, is the audience's hope of seeing an intelligent and entertaining movie.

First Rate Kidnap Drama!

[vitaleralphlouis · 7/10 · 1 January 2008]

No wonder this A-list movie went direct to DVD with an awful title Butterfly on a Wheel. Good grief!

Anyway, Mel Gibson's ICON Productions has made the most interesting kidnapping movie in recent memory.

The acting, continuity, photography (Chicago) are all first rate. The only problem is that after saying the movie is worth your time, any additional comment will spoil it.

Please find out as little as possible because anything you read will really spoil it.

Maria Bello. Oh! MY! Please stop by any time!

Routine paranoia thriller

[neil-476 · 7/10 · 20 June 2011]

Gerard Butler is a successful advertising executive, married to Maria Bello and with a young daughter. They are off out one night when Pierce Brosnan suddenly pops up in the back seat of their car, brandishes a gun and tells them that unless they do what he tells them they will never see their daughter again. He then proceeds to make them jump through a series of humiliating and harmful hoops for no apparent reason.

Ultimately there is a reason, and it doesn't cheat the audience. The twist (a double twist) is guessable but not obvious and, when it comes, defuses a number of the "Hang on a minute..." reservations which have built up during most of the film.

The film works, just about - I was just starting to get a bit bored with them being bounced about for no apparent reason when the film finally moved on.

Brosnan and Bello are both good: Butler is a bit annoying (perhaps it is just his character). I found myself wondering what the film would have been like had Brosnan and Butler each played the other part.

Great suspense with a twist

[pigletgirlkp · 7/10 · 27 October 2007]

Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan) takes Neil and Abby Randall (Gerard Butler and Maria Bello) hostage during their date night and systematically begins to ruin their lives while threatening the life of their daughter. You Actually feel bad for Neil after it seems Tom is set out to destroy him for some wrong that Neil did to him. Tom takes his family, his money, his career then tells him that he has to kill someone to get it all back. Butler and Bello have great chemistry which makes the ending that much better. Pierce Brosnan sells his character really well. I don't think anyone could have done a better job playing this complete psycho.

An absolute gem of a thriller

[Craig_McPherson · 9/10 · 30 December 2007]

Every once in a while a movie comes along without any great fanfare, advance hype or viral marketing – a true sleeper, as it were – and causes the viewer to wonder how such a gem flew under the radar. Such is the case with Butterfly on a Wheel (released in North America under the title Shattered).

The title Butterfly on a Wheel, taken from the Alexander Pope's 1734 poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot", refers to someone putting massive effort into achieving something considered minor or unimportant, and is cryptically referred to at various points in the story and pretty much sums up the entire plot of this movie.

Gerard Butler plays Neil Randall, a Chicago advertising executive and rising star at his firm. He appears to have everything going for him. A boss who views him as the heir apparent, a loving wife, adoring moppet-headed daughter, nice house, car – he's living the American dream. That is until everything comes to a grinding halt when, on an outing with his wife (Maria Bello) they find themselves hijacked by Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan), a mysterious stranger who tells them his associate has their daughter captive and unless they wish to see her alive again, they must complete a series of arduous and cryptic challenges.

From there unfolds a cat and mouse game with Ryan's motives becoming ever more difficult to decipher as the movie progresses. With a plot peppered with enough red herrings to keep you guessing (I thought for sure I had it all figured out early on, only to be thrown for a loop), Butterfly on a Wheel/Shattered is paced to perfection, strongly acted by all three principals, and delivers a smart, almost too clever story.

What's more, it will leave you thinking about it long after viewing, and even motivating you to go over scenes again to try and find flaws, which may be there, but are very cleverly hidden.

While the media blitz that tends to foreshadow most movie releases undoubtedly benefits the film studios, in this case I can honestly say that knowing zero about this film going in actually worked in its favor, and has me marking it as one not to be missed.

I like the 1991 film with Berenger and Hoskins better

[TwoCrude · 6/10 · 2 September 2007]

CONTAINS SPOILERS

I saw this on TNT tonight.

Attempts at suspense were made, but neither the writer nor the director had the skill or the sense of restraint to bring make these attempts successful.

I mentioned the 1991 film titled "Shattered". The original novel, "The Plastic Nightmare" had a much better plot than the Brosnan film. And a better director in Wolfgang Petersen.

For a recent movie about a marriage gone bad, rent "Unfaithful". For a suspense flick about a kidnapped kid, try "Ransom". Gere, Lane, Gibson and company do a better job with the respective genres than 2007's version of "Shattered".

A Suspenseless Suspense Movie

[gradyharp · 3/10 · 29 December 2007]

SHATTERED (also known as BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL) is one of those films that starts out with a solid cast of highly respected actors to pull audiences in and then proceeds to squander talent in a script that should be still on the reject shelf. The film has all the markings and big budget of a major Hollywood money maker, but there is a very valid reason why the theatrical run was brief and unheralded, sending the movie to television and to DVD post haste: it just is a very weak work.

Writer William Morrissey had a thought, camouflaged behind the meaning of an obscure line from Pope ('butterfly on a wheel') that refers to the degree of torture one can take before breaking. The problem is that this tale of the consequences of infidelity has been done many, many times before with far better results. The astute viewer will find all the cracks in the plot line of this supposed 'startling thriller' from the first few frames: watching suspicions play out is very anticlimactic. Morrissey depends on what he imaged as a 'big surprise' ending and it just doesn't surprise! Gerard Butler, Maria Bello, and Pierce Brosnan are all strong actors and one wonders why they opted to participate in this movie. It is not the best work of any of the three, trying to make credible characters out of the double-sided puzzle: kidnapping, testing of relationships, facing consequences of behavior. Director Mike Barker lets the drama sag when it most needs to be pushed. Unless the viewer just wants to see more of the three stars (even in a weak film) then that is the justification for sitting through this. Otherwise, pass... Grady Harp

Superb Thriller - Leaves You Guessing

[TNSGVR · 9/10 · 22 June 2021]

It takes a lot for a thriller to not clue in to the ending long before, but this is one of them.

Very surprised more people don't know about it. Fantastic performance by Pierce Brosnan in his native tongue. Don't miss.

Not sure if I like it or not

[johnlukeconcannon · 7/10 · 18 May 2020]

Watched this yesterday and liked it. Definitely not boring and kept me entertained , but now I've had a day to think about it, I think it was a bit silly. Maria Bello used a stick of dynamite to crack open a walnut sized problem. She should have just keyed Gerard Butler's car and left him. She had a lot of time on her hands to conspire a very convoluted revenge

Like spending the evening with bickering in-laws

[kb-70 · 3/10 · 7 September 2007]

Frankly, there wasn't much here for me beyond watching a couple have a long, depressing argument. I never emotionally engaged with anyone in the picture. Nor did I feel any concern over their predicament. Both the husband and wife disgusted me. They were foolish, petty people who seemed determined to make every possible wrong decision. The multi-level twist at the end did nothing at all to change my opinion of them.

And a little hint to any potential kidnappers out there: Try the stunt Brosnan pulls, popping up in the backseat of my car holding a gun, and you'll be flying through the windshield before I even hear what it is you're after. The couple were belted into the front and had airbags. The guy with the gun was sitting loose in the back. I'd have crashed our car into the first big concrete thing I saw without a word. Would have made a much shorter movie.