Angelina Jolie plays Special Agent Illeana Scott, an FBI profiler brought to Quebec to solve the mysteries of a serial killer that assumes the identities of his victims. Working with the disagreeable Quebec police force, Illeana must protect a witness, who is the killer's next potential victim (Ethan Hawke), but their relationship becomes more personal forcing her to question her priorities.
The worst thing a thriller can be is predictable and that's exactly what Taking Lives is, predictable. It was still a decent thriller with some tense moments but the ending is quite obvious. The only reason I rated this film above a five is because of Angelina Jolie. I think she's a terrific actress and she does the best here with a lousy script. She's very convincing and just a treat to watch on screen. If only the rest of the film was as good. It starts off decently enough with a very scary opening. Then it takes a familiar path and everything becomes by the numbers. There was actually one twist that did take me by surprise. It's just too bad that the rest of the film couldn't be like that.
The other performances are quite good and they help keep things moving. Olivier Martinez and Gena Rowlands both give good performances. Kiefer Sutherland was in the movie for about five minutes yet he gets top billing. It's a little silly to hype him up when he actually didn't do anything. The only performance I didn't really like was from Ethan Hawke. He was so unconvincing and so easy to figure out. D.J. Caruso directs and he does a decent job. He isn't that great at creating suspense but he does offer a few chilling and tense moments. There was potential with this project and they really dropped the ball. It could have been a good, stylish thriller but it ends up being a mediocre one. In the end, this film is really just for Angelina Jolie's fans and there are better thrillers out there. Rating 6/10
The worst thing a thriller can be is predictable and that's exactly what Taking Lives is, predictable. It was still a decent thriller with some tense moments but the ending is quite obvious. The only reason I rated this film above a five is because of Angelina Jolie. I think she's a terrific actress and she does the best here with a lousy script. She's very convincing and just a treat to watch on screen. If only the rest of the film was as good. It starts off decently enough with a very scary opening. Then it takes a familiar path and everything becomes by the numbers. There was actually one twist that did take me by surprise. It's just too bad that the rest of the film couldn't be like that.
The other performances are quite good and they help keep things moving. Olivier Martinez and Gena Rowlands both give good performances. Kiefer Sutherland was in the movie for about five minutes yet he gets top billing. It's a little silly to hype him up when he actually didn't do anything. The only performance I didn't really like was from Ethan Hawke. He was so unconvincing and so easy to figure out. D.J. Caruso directs and he does a decent job. He isn't that great at creating suspense but he does offer a few chilling and tense moments. There was potential with this project and they really dropped the ball. It could have been a good, stylish thriller but it ends up being a mediocre one. In the end, this film is really just for Angelina Jolie's fans and there are better thrillers out there. Rating 6/10