Ben Kingsley is a terrific actor. Carrie-Anne Moss is hot. There. I'm done. I've outlined all the positives.
Well, that might be a bit harsh, but this thriller really failed to grab my attention as it stole attributes from The Ring, The Shining and well, probably a lot of bad films too. With characters that can't make up their mind as to who they want to be, dialogue that is lackluster at best and acting that makes suspenseful scenes laughable, Suspect Zero couldn't be described as anything other than a disappointment.
The film is the story of FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart), who due to some civil rights violations during a bust, has been demoted to the small town FBI branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His first day on the job leads him to investigate the murder of a traveling salesman. The FBI, for no apparent reason, sends Agent Fran Kulok (Moss) down to the sleepy branch to assist in the investigation. She has some past relationship with Mackelway that is annoyingly never explained. Several other murders follow and Mackelway begins to receive strange faxes from a man who seems to have information regarding a connection to the murders. Following a random string of clues, Mackelway dives deep into the investigation as he begins to feel a personal attachment. In a completely haphazard discovery, the agents learn that Benjamin O'Ryan, the creator of the "Suspect Zero" theory, is responsible for the assisting faxes. According to his theory, a person is capable of a completely random killing spree with no method of operation or clues left behind. His goal is to capture one such criminal, and he needs Mackelway's help to do so.
I'm going to stop there. If I give any more away, this film will be flatter than Eckhart's acting, and I don't want to completely ruin this for all you thriller fans out there. Just know this: this film is simply impossible. Not impossible like traveling through time in Back to the Future, but impossible like crushing steel with your bare hands. The film hasn't been set up in a way to allow the viewer to suspend belief enough to accept the action (like time travel in the formerly mentioned classic). The characters go from nice to mean, to irrelevant all in the same scene. Nothing makes sense. The randomness of the characters' actions coupled with the plot points which seem to be arbitrarily positioned throughout the plot simply leave the audience confused. The list goes on.
What makes this genre bender worse is that its scare tactics seem to be lifted directly from other successful films. Flash-backs or visions, I'm not really sure what they were, are presented over and over in the same style as the tape in The Ring making what seems to be a recycled plot more tired than it needs to be. O'Ryan draws what he sees through some type of telepathy, and the drawings are a creepy rendition of the murder scenes. Sound familiar? Have you SEEN The Ring? Come on.
Some couples like to be scared, and I can understand that. I love a good horror film as much as the next guy, especially when it drives my wife to cling to me throughout the entire film. This isn't one of those movies. This film, rather, is full of nonsensical twists and turns brought about by bad acting and overused technique. We've seen the plot before, and will most likely see it many times again, but this rendition just doesn't stick. I recommend dumping your ticket money in your gas tank and watching a romantic sunset instead.
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Josh Gloer, Movie Correspondent
You can find Josh's column One Harsh Critic at http://oneharshcritic.gather.com.
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Comments: 4
Funny how I forgot all about it until I read your review.
Not much of an impact...huh?