Why this movie...

You're right. In the last 20 years RG has only made bland mainstream fare with very little box office success.

First) I totally agree, this movie was never going to succeed with Richard Gere in the lead. Richard Gere is so boring to watch on screen. It's weird, because Richard Gere is actually a pretty good actor. But he just creates apathy in the viewer.

It's a combination of his style and the roles he gets that makes him someone that it's completely impossible for most people to have any empathy for. And, he's not all that hateable either. So, if you don't like him, and you don't hate him, he can't drive a movie.

Second) The sound cues throughout this movie are of the 1980's dry, boring, keyboard/synth swells and fade outs that really serve more to put the viewer to sleep than create any drama or help to the scenes. In my opinion the sound cues actually detracted from the movie. And it never stops, it's lame synth swells and fade outs constantly, in almost every scene... Honestly, it felt like they took only the absolute worst music cues Jan Hammer did for Miami Vice in the 1980's, and dumped them underneath this movie.

Whatever it was they were trying to convey with the sound cues, they failed miserably. If it was just crips dialog without the lame music cues, it would have been more striking/dramatic.

Third) Finally, and most importantly, the ending was horrible. Not because "leave it up to you" or "interpret it yourself" endings are a bad thing. But, because for that kind of thing to work, you actually have to care about the characters and be on the edge of your seat for what comes next.

Frankly, I really didn't care what happened next, or feel anything should/shouldn't happen to any of the characters. Robert or Ellen, didn't care, both were boring and not innocent/good enough for me to want anything good for either. Det. Bryer never really made me cheer for him or be bother by him. The only one I can even think of, (and I had to stop and think about if there was even anyone I cared about), was Brooke, the daughter. I guess she could be screwed over for something she didn't do, and didn't deserve to be screwed over for.

So, I guess the ending I'm making up is while the crowd was cheering at the end, Brooke was telling Det. Bryer everything, and screwing over both of her parents. Probably not what the writers had hoped for, but it would be the only ending I can think of that would make me like the movie.