Perhaps Al Pacino should have called it a day at the turn of the millennium and taken early retirement because his career post-2002 has been a downward spiral ever since. 'Hangman' brings to mind another serial killer thriller of Pacino's called 'Righteous Kill' from 2008, where he reunited with fellow acting titan Robert De Niro, and in which both legends got taken down by a ripe script and suspect editing.
In a plot ripped straight outta the 1990s, Pacino plays a retired detective brought in to help Karl Urban's haunted-by-his-past cop to catch a serial killer who hangs his victims as part of an elaborately constructed real life game of hangman. The killer taunts his pursuers with absurd clues while possessing an uncanny ability to know every move they are going to make right down to when they will arrive at crime scenes. It is utterly ludicrous but familiar for the genre. The same kind of criticisms could be leveled at David Fincher's 'Se7en'. The serial killer's master plan in that film relies on the single hope that the cops investigating the case are smart enough to notice all of his abstract clues while managing to make connections between the victims and figuring things out at the exact right time. But because 'Se7en' was so well done, its deeply contrived plot endured against any real scrutiny. 'Hangman', on the other hand, earns no such free pass because it is just risible nonsense.
The film certainly benefits from having someone like Pacino loan out his screen presence, even if it feels like he is simply on paycheck autopilot. Urban, as Pacino's fellow detective, fairs less better and, let's be honest, is hardly a match for his seasoned co-star when it comes to performance (then again who is?). Urban is not a particularly compelling actor to watch anyway, unless he's impersonating DeForest Kelley or covering his face with a Judge's helmet, while Brittany Snow is way out of her league but, in her defence, she is saddled with an entirely implausible access-all- areas journalist character who wanders into active crime scenes with the lead detectives and helps to solve clues and race to save victims-to-be. I ask you: is there a police force anywhere in the world that would allow such a scenario to take place? This is a heavy reflection of just how contrived and lazy the plotting is. And then there is the woeful finale where the killer monologues some motivation for all the murders and you realise just how nonsensical his master plan has been.
These problems with the film do not end with the listless performances and the botched hatchet-job of a script. They are in fact exacerbated by the rather leaden and unimaginative direction by Johnny Martin (now there's a name you can trust!), who stages his scenes without any panache or style, while his set-pieces feel perfunctory and uninvolving. What could have possibly been an enjoyable but throwaway 'serial killer with a gimmick' story loses any sense of its momentum or impact because the presentation is so dull. Not that any semi- competent director could have rescued this from the bargain bin it was born in.
Pacino deserves better material. We've seen this guy conquer this genre plenty of times before in excellent movies like 'Sea of Love' and 'Insomnia', and the fact that he has been relegated to starring in this down market VOD feature is the most insulting part of the whole viewing experience. 'Hangman' sometimes verges on the unwatchable, and Pacino, as a talent, has been anything but.
In a plot ripped straight outta the 1990s, Pacino plays a retired detective brought in to help Karl Urban's haunted-by-his-past cop to catch a serial killer who hangs his victims as part of an elaborately constructed real life game of hangman. The killer taunts his pursuers with absurd clues while possessing an uncanny ability to know every move they are going to make right down to when they will arrive at crime scenes. It is utterly ludicrous but familiar for the genre. The same kind of criticisms could be leveled at David Fincher's 'Se7en'. The serial killer's master plan in that film relies on the single hope that the cops investigating the case are smart enough to notice all of his abstract clues while managing to make connections between the victims and figuring things out at the exact right time. But because 'Se7en' was so well done, its deeply contrived plot endured against any real scrutiny. 'Hangman', on the other hand, earns no such free pass because it is just risible nonsense.
The film certainly benefits from having someone like Pacino loan out his screen presence, even if it feels like he is simply on paycheck autopilot. Urban, as Pacino's fellow detective, fairs less better and, let's be honest, is hardly a match for his seasoned co-star when it comes to performance (then again who is?). Urban is not a particularly compelling actor to watch anyway, unless he's impersonating DeForest Kelley or covering his face with a Judge's helmet, while Brittany Snow is way out of her league but, in her defence, she is saddled with an entirely implausible access-all- areas journalist character who wanders into active crime scenes with the lead detectives and helps to solve clues and race to save victims-to-be. I ask you: is there a police force anywhere in the world that would allow such a scenario to take place? This is a heavy reflection of just how contrived and lazy the plotting is. And then there is the woeful finale where the killer monologues some motivation for all the murders and you realise just how nonsensical his master plan has been.
These problems with the film do not end with the listless performances and the botched hatchet-job of a script. They are in fact exacerbated by the rather leaden and unimaginative direction by Johnny Martin (now there's a name you can trust!), who stages his scenes without any panache or style, while his set-pieces feel perfunctory and uninvolving. What could have possibly been an enjoyable but throwaway 'serial killer with a gimmick' story loses any sense of its momentum or impact because the presentation is so dull. Not that any semi- competent director could have rescued this from the bargain bin it was born in.
Pacino deserves better material. We've seen this guy conquer this genre plenty of times before in excellent movies like 'Sea of Love' and 'Insomnia', and the fact that he has been relegated to starring in this down market VOD feature is the most insulting part of the whole viewing experience. 'Hangman' sometimes verges on the unwatchable, and Pacino, as a talent, has been anything but.