The movie seemed to start off holding some promise, but after seeing the interrogation room scene, I had only one hope - that Ethan Hawkes character (Costa) was NOT the bad-guy; otherwise the whole movie would be trite. Turns out my hopes were going to be dashed. This is a prime example of how not to construct a thriller plot. When you start piling on the improbable events, eventually the spell of the film becomes broken and you are left just waiting for it to be over. I could drive a semi through the plot holes in this one. One of the worst offending elements of this film would have to be one of the most basic - Motivation. What is the purpose for the character to return to Montreal? The movie implies that the character kills people, and assumes their lives for several years, before moving on. Obviously, he hasn't been found out about yet - why try to set up Keifer Sutherlands character as the fall-guy? What if the special investigator had been a guy? What if Costa hadn't been left alone with the other inspector? What if Costa had been stopped before crashing the car on the bridge, with the corpse next to him with the fatal stomach wound? The only way his character could have succeeded to that point would have been if he could somehow predict the unpredictable, and that is why this film is so bad. The only thrills and chills here are trying to guess what idiotic event will be tacked on meaninglessly next - the end result was NEVER in question. If you want to see a film of this type done right, see Seven. I wouldn't waste your time on this one - here is two hours of my life I won't get back.
Review of Taking Lives
