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Title: Taking Lives (2004)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Angelina Jolie | ... | Illeana | |
| Ethan Hawke | ... | Costa | |
| Kiefer Sutherland | ... | Hart | |
| Gena Rowlands | ... | Mrs. Asher | |
| Olivier Martinez | ... | Paquette | |
| Tchéky Karyo | ... | Leclair | |
| Jean-Hugues Anglade | ... | Duval | |
| Paul Dano | ... | Young Asher | |
| Justin Chatwin | ... | Matt Soulsby | |
| André Lacoste | ... | Cashier | |
 |
Billy Two Rivers | ... | Car Salesman |
|
|
Richard Lemire | ... | Québec City Cop |
|
|
Julien Poulin | ... | Québec City Inspector |
| Marie-Josée Croze | ... | Medical Examiner | |
| Christian Tessier | ... | Interrogation Officer | |
The film starts in the early 1980s. Young Martin Asher took a bus for Canada. He meets another teen on the bus, Matt Soulsby. When the bus broke down they decided to rent a car and drive to Seattle. On the road the car gets a flat tire, and Matt starts changing the tire. Martin comments on how he and Matt are about the same height, and in that moment he quickly pushes Matt in the way of an oncoming truck causing a huge accident where Matt and the driver both die. He took Matt's guitar and left singing like Matt did. Twenty years later, an FBI profiler, Illeana Scott comes to Canada to help hunt down the now serial killer Martin Asher who killed multiple men and lived by their identities. Martin's mother claims that she saw Martin in Quebec city and she tells the police that Martin is evil. The police also has an eyewitness James Costa who saw Asher kill his last victim... Written by victoria
Taking Lives is entertaining but predictable from director D.J. Caruso whose admirable in making this thriller but there are flaws that weigh it down. Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke are good as the two leads. Oliver Martinez, Tcheky Karyo, Jean-Hugh Anglade, and Gena Rowlands are effective as the supporting characters but they lack screen time and development because most of the focus is on Jolie. Kiefer Sutherland is solid in a brief extended appearance before being written out of the movie rather quickly. The rest of the cast are okay in their roles but no one stands out. The movie does have a little suspense but it doesn't pay off because the eventual twist I sort of saw coming. There's a little action including a chase that's well executed but the movie could've used more of it. If there was more suspense, action, character development, and a different twist besides the one they went with the film would've have been that bad. Taking Lives starts off decent but after a while it becomes kind of obvious who the killer is and after the reveal there's no more suspense. The pacing was a little slow at times which didn't help either. Lucikly Caruos kept the running time down to 103 minutes so it's not a total waste of time. Overall despite it's flaws Taking Lives is an okay thriller with a little suspense, action, and solid performances by the cast who make this movie worth watching at least once but after it's over you can't help but feel a little disappointed.