The Watcher isn't that bad...I'd say it deserves about 6.5 - 7. Even Reeves is surprisingly passable, for once, and Spader gives it his all, as he always does. Why is this guy so under-rated?!
shareI gave it a 4.
Why?
I have seen 1000 other films based on this theme.
And this is so far fetched.
a really bad film
I've no idea why James Spader is so under-rated. He's been great in even the worst movies I've seen him in. It's rather subtle. He has a certain.. je ne sais quai. I was certain he'd get an Oscar nomination for 'Secretary' at least. It's weird. He's an exceptional actor and has a degree of fearlessness that VERY few actors in Hollywood today have. I can't think of another actor of his generation who can do what he does as well as he does it.
Maybe he just flies under the radar a little too much and (for one reason or another) doesn't get offered the right parts.
I'd love for someone to write him a really fantastic script. Something on par with 'Sex, Lies & Videotape' and 'Secretary' (in terms of quality). His talent is being wasted, imo, on projects like 'The Watcher' (et al.) I really want to see him in more decent films... I think he deserves it.
xokatyxo....could you please translate 'je ne sais quai.' I know how to pronounce it and I am quite sure it is something good if Spader has it! lol
THIS IS NOT HERE
[deleted]
It's "je ne sais PAS" dear. Not quai.
---
You can kiss my ass. And make sure you get nice and close because I just took a massive crap.
hate to be a bich but I think the original poster was saying "quoi" which is the only way I'VE ever heard it said *shrug*. That would mean it's simply a typo. I also hate to correct you 6 months after you posted that...but you did the same to the other person so I think it's merited.
Cheers
"Ah. Multiple exclamation points, the true sign of a deranged mind."
I gave it an 8. I really liked the film, and especially Keanu. It was great to see him play a villian again. The last time was 'Much Ado About Nothing,' and he passed w/flying colors.
I have never seen Marisa Tomei look lovelier! I thought she was so pretty in every scene. I wish we would see more of her.
And the film also scared me, which was part of the fun. Although it is a work of fiction, I myself am a single woman living alone. So I understood where they were coming from. Good thing my boyfriend was there to make me feel safe!
I did like this film. It is a big cliché, but still efficient. There are many creative ideas: for example, when James Spader talks to the police officer while he is oing a bust, or when we see the initial breakthrough scene (Keanu dancing while the swat team goes after him)and think that it is in james's imagination...
shareWell, sure as hell looks like James Spader is doing very well for himself these days....(Boston Legal)
I've always been a fan of his too :)
To me it was no surprise that Reeves wanted to get out of his contract for this movie. Very, very lame; no suspense at all.
A waste of time, money and talent(Spader, Tomei, even Reeves which I'm not a big fan of).
[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
xokatyxo, I agree with you. I'd love to see him in more films like SLV and Secretary. But I still enjoyed The Watcher.
I enjoyed it too. In fact, I've enjoyed Spader in most of his work. It will be interesting if, when Boston Legal ends, we see him getting back into movies.
blackberry, I totally agree
"Wherever you go,there you are"
Three reasons to dislike "The Watcher":
(1) Only one of the women fights back, and her hitting Keanu's character on the head with a giant ghetto blaster has no effect whatsoever. The rest are passive.
(2) The product placements are just so obvious.
(3) No suspense. The serial killer is exactly who we think it is.
On the other hand, at least it tried to be a serious film about someone with serious mental health problems. But the TV series "Monk", about a detective with an obsessive compulsive disorder, does that so much better.
I already replied to this exact posting somewhere else, but what the heck:
Obviously, The Watcher is a long way from being "best movie ever" for most people, which is as it should be, and you have made some valid points. In its defence, however, I'd like to add that I've seen far worse films in my time - it's not that bad either. To make my point:
1. Don't we all expect complex plot twists where the serial killer isn't who you think he was, except that he probably is, because we're expecting it to be someone unlikely...ya-di-ya. The plot twist here was in gradually finding out what had happened between Reeves' and Spader's characters previously, and why Spader was such a wreck...and it was (!) original.
2. Ah yes, very obvious product placement. Something of which The Watcher is undoubtedly guilty, but then, so are many other films, and some make it far more blatantly obvious (The Island, anyone??!)
3. Wasn't one of the women attacked from behind? Hardly gives a person much chance to fight back, especially if they're being throttled at the time. I don't recall the other one/s who didn't fight back. It's been a while since I've seen this.
4. Spader acted his um... socks off. The film was worth watching for the (memorable) scene where he's desperately searching for the drug to relieve his migraine; the agony is clear to see on his face...makes you wonder if he really gets them and knows just how bad they can get.
5. Reeves is okay (worth seeing, as it doesn't happen all that often).
6. Most of all, The Watcher isn't all that bad because it's *watchable*. It entertains; it's fast, AND (unlike many other films), it doesn't outstay its welcome.
No doubt there will be those who disagree, as is their wont, but for my money, The Watcher was worth watching (pun unintentional).
Everyone tells me that I have my grandmother's hands. So what?
Grandma's dead, it's not like she needed them anymore.
I agree with most of your points. I don't have a problem with knowing who did it upfront, but the script and character development were shocking. Wow, a burnt-out cop - man, haven't seen that one before. The flashbacks just annoyed me (I fast forwarded those bits). I thought Keanu wasn't too bad but I've seen other great actors flounder when presented with s^*& to work with!
I can't believe I wasted 90 minutes of my life on this movie.
Everybody be cool.....YOU be cool!
I agree with you. This is a perfect movie and deserves much better state.
share[deleted]
Good God what an awful film, from the less than impressive start where Keanu Reeves dances to 'Dragula' by Rob Zombie to sniffs of ripping off 'American Psycho'.. it's just a ridiculous effort.
James Spader does a good job trying to stay afloat in this cowpat of a film though.. Keanu merely seems out of his depth.
Irritating 2/10
---
Defer not unto the evening, that which the morning may accomplish.