Hangman
1.5/4
Starring: Karl Urban, Al Pacino, Brittany Snow
Rated R for Violent Content, Bloody Images, and Langauge
Few psychological thrillers can boast a plot with no seams. There are always lingering questions or plot holes that the film is too busy to plug or is unable to. Even in a movie like "Seven," the plot relied on everyone acting as John Doe intended to the letter. But David Fincher camouflaged the more absurd parts of the plot with a smart screenplay, strong performances, and an impeccable sense of atmosphere. "Hangman" has none of those things. The plot is dumb, the acting is flat, and the atmosphere lacks menace.
New York Times journalist Christi Davies (Snow) is doing an on-the-spot piece with Detective Will Ruiney (Urban), intending to write an expose on the day-to-day life of police detectives. Ruiney isn't especially enthused about the idea, but he's under orders to do it. Soon enough, he's called to a grisly homicide. A man has been found hung outside a school with a letter carved into his chest. Inside, there's a game of hangman on a chalkboard, and on the desk nearby are two numbers: Ruiney's badge number, and that of his old friend, Ray Archer (Pacino). Together, with Christi tagging along, they have to stop a killer who strikes every 24 hours and taunts them to stop him.
I've always thought that a serial killer with an endgame is a bad idea. A lot of tension goes out the window when you realize that if the heroes can't stop him by the time he finishes his plan, at least he'll stop. "Hangman," like virtually every serial killer movie that does this, acknowledges that this is not normal behavior for a serial killer (as far as that goes), but I digress. Also like all serial killer movies that do this, it is too dim-witted to appreciate the irony of including that tidbit of Serial Killer 101.
Despite the fact that the cast includes the legendary Al Pacino, the acting doesn't impress. Pacino is a fine actor, but these days he'll appear in anything as long as he gets paid. For those of you who don't believe me, he did appear in "Misconduct," a film I encourage him to leave off his resume. Pacino couldn't possibly look more bored if he tried. He's strictly there for the paycheck. Let's hope that he actually puts more effort into his acting when he appears for Martin Scorcese in "The Irishman." Karl Urban finds a role that's mostly within his limited range, but another actor could have done it better. Brittany Snow, who is as light a comic actress as they come, tries her best in a serious role, but while she's adequate, there's no denying that there's something missing.
The story is generic serial killer movie stuff. If you've seen another movie about a serial killer, almost nothing in this movie will surprise you. The plot doesn't always make a lot of sense, perhaps because it blows credibility right out of the water. The Hangman, which is the obvious nickname of the killer, is meant to be a master manipulator. That would be fine if I could believe he was capable of doing some of what he does. Attacking a wheelchair-bound police chief is one thing. Setting up a string of murder victims in the course of a day while leaving clues for the next one...stretches the believability factor pretty far, but I'll let it slide. But to plan that a car is going to hit the one that is chasing you under a bridge? Give me a break.
I'll admit that the chase scenes are exciting and the film is rarely boring. It's just that while it's not bad, it's not very good either. Even leaving out the fact that it stars two decent actors and one acting legend (even though he's sleepwalking through it). It also has a twist ending that makes absolutely no sense. And I mean, none. So there's that too.
Starring: Karl Urban, Al Pacino, Brittany Snow
Rated R for Violent Content, Bloody Images, and Langauge
Few psychological thrillers can boast a plot with no seams. There are always lingering questions or plot holes that the film is too busy to plug or is unable to. Even in a movie like "Seven," the plot relied on everyone acting as John Doe intended to the letter. But David Fincher camouflaged the more absurd parts of the plot with a smart screenplay, strong performances, and an impeccable sense of atmosphere. "Hangman" has none of those things. The plot is dumb, the acting is flat, and the atmosphere lacks menace.
New York Times journalist Christi Davies (Snow) is doing an on-the-spot piece with Detective Will Ruiney (Urban), intending to write an expose on the day-to-day life of police detectives. Ruiney isn't especially enthused about the idea, but he's under orders to do it. Soon enough, he's called to a grisly homicide. A man has been found hung outside a school with a letter carved into his chest. Inside, there's a game of hangman on a chalkboard, and on the desk nearby are two numbers: Ruiney's badge number, and that of his old friend, Ray Archer (Pacino). Together, with Christi tagging along, they have to stop a killer who strikes every 24 hours and taunts them to stop him.
I've always thought that a serial killer with an endgame is a bad idea. A lot of tension goes out the window when you realize that if the heroes can't stop him by the time he finishes his plan, at least he'll stop. "Hangman," like virtually every serial killer movie that does this, acknowledges that this is not normal behavior for a serial killer (as far as that goes), but I digress. Also like all serial killer movies that do this, it is too dim-witted to appreciate the irony of including that tidbit of Serial Killer 101.
Despite the fact that the cast includes the legendary Al Pacino, the acting doesn't impress. Pacino is a fine actor, but these days he'll appear in anything as long as he gets paid. For those of you who don't believe me, he did appear in "Misconduct," a film I encourage him to leave off his resume. Pacino couldn't possibly look more bored if he tried. He's strictly there for the paycheck. Let's hope that he actually puts more effort into his acting when he appears for Martin Scorcese in "The Irishman." Karl Urban finds a role that's mostly within his limited range, but another actor could have done it better. Brittany Snow, who is as light a comic actress as they come, tries her best in a serious role, but while she's adequate, there's no denying that there's something missing.
The story is generic serial killer movie stuff. If you've seen another movie about a serial killer, almost nothing in this movie will surprise you. The plot doesn't always make a lot of sense, perhaps because it blows credibility right out of the water. The Hangman, which is the obvious nickname of the killer, is meant to be a master manipulator. That would be fine if I could believe he was capable of doing some of what he does. Attacking a wheelchair-bound police chief is one thing. Setting up a string of murder victims in the course of a day while leaving clues for the next one...stretches the believability factor pretty far, but I'll let it slide. But to plan that a car is going to hit the one that is chasing you under a bridge? Give me a break.
I'll admit that the chase scenes are exciting and the film is rarely boring. It's just that while it's not bad, it's not very good either. Even leaving out the fact that it stars two decent actors and one acting legend (even though he's sleepwalking through it). It also has a twist ending that makes absolutely no sense. And I mean, none. So there's that too.
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