The Bone Collector

B Directed by Phillip Noyce Running Time: 1:53 Rated R for strong violent content including grisly images, and for language.

I must admit, I had my doubts about seeing The Bone Collector. The fact that I knew for the entire movie, Denzel Washington would be sitting in a bed, made me think that this couldn't be that good a film. I figured that Angelina Jolie would then become the entire focus, and I wasn't sure she could carry this type of movie. But I was mistaken. Yes Denzel was in bed the entire movie, but he had all these cool computer gadgets to help him out, and this way Jolie didn't have to become the focal point of the film, she could still ride shotgun to the amazing acting ability of Denzel.

Denzel plays Lincoln Rhymes, a forensics detective who was paralyzed while on a case. For 4 years he has been in bed knowing that at any moment he could have a seizure that would kill him, and he decides to go out on his own terms. But before he can do that, a serial killer is found to be on the loose in New York, and Rhymes is the only one who can stop him. But since he is bed ridden, he needs the eyes and ears of someone else to help him out. Those eyes and ears (and lips) come in the form of Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie). She was supposed to go into the Youth Crime department, but gets chosen to help with forensics because Rhymes feels she has the instincts to do the job right. The killer leaves clues as to who he is, and who the next victim will be. Brutal death after brutal death until the next victim is a cop. Can Rhymes and Donaghy figure out who the killer is, before he kills one of them?

Recently I saw The General's Daughter. In that movie, you had a murder that had a whole lot of suspects. When they finally revealed who the killer was, I kept thinking that they way the movie was set up, it could have been anybody, and all they had to do was give the killer a reason. But there was nothing that I could see that would have led me to guess who the actual killer was. It's the same way in The Bone Collector. When the killer was finally revealed, there was just a simple reason given as to why he killed all those people. And there was nothing shown in the film, no clues or anything, that would have led you to figure it out. I haven't figured out if I like this kind of ending. I suppose if there were clues and I had figured it out before the end, I would be complaining about how the movie gave too much away. So either way I'd complain. But besides the quick ending, I thought the rest of the movie was pretty good. Denzel gave yet another great performance. Even from a bed, he has the ability to command the screen and everyone on it. Angelina Jolie was able to hold her own against Denzel and even give some back to him at times. Although it bothered me that for the first hour she mostly just yelled and cried. The supporting cast was just that, it supported the main stars. Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, and Ed O'Neill stayed in the back, coming out to help Denzel and Angelina when they needed it, but mostly staying out of the way. I liked the brutality of the killings. Nothing glamorized here. I liked the fact that the cops weren't able to save everyone, the director actually let people die instead of making the cops heroes all the time.

From one of the commercials to the film, it has been compared to both Silence of the Lambs and Seven. I thought that The Bone Collector wasn't as good as Silence of the Lambs or as brutal and dark as Seven but it was good in its own right. Strong performances from the lead stars and a dark and mysterious script helped make this a good movie to see. The ending I felt was a little too rushed and easy, but it didn't take away from the film. So overall I thought The Bone Collector was an enjoyable movie.