Powerful

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Great story, that keeps you on edge all the way through, I'm sure it will inspire to read all the Deaver books. A must see!

THE BONE COLLECTOR - 1999Directed by Phillip NoyceStarring ​Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie and Michael RookerPlot Overview: ​Policewoman Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) is in hot pursuit of a serial murderer whose calling card is a small shard of bone extracted from each of his victims. Unable to decipher the cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, Amelia calls upon quadriplegic forensic criminology expert Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) to help. With Amelia acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together disparate clues, hoping they will learn who the next victim is.For me, the very worst sin a serial killer movie can pull is thinking it is smarter than it is. A movie that thinks that its solutions are 'mind blowing' and 'genius' when they are in reality just average or below that are the worst type of serial killer film due to the horrible pretentious nature of it. And that is exactly what this mess is. Pretentious, boring, messy - three words that no film should have the burden of bearing but three words this film claims.Good movies that are 'intelligent' give enough wiggle room for the audience to figure out the solution for themselves. This film, on the other hand, combines myriads of obscure, stupidly insignificant pieces of information into one impossible to solve, obscene solution. I am 100% down with an intelligent lead, but when your lead is omniscient, I have a problem with it. The conclusion for this movie is both lazy and infuriating. I kinda guessed who it was shortly after the film began so the grand reveal meant nothing for me. As for the people I watched this with, it meant nothing for them because the reveal itself was worthless. No hints. No ideal motive. They even do the horribly cliché method of trying to convince the audience that X is the Y, when in fact it is Z. What I mean by that is that they try to convince you it is someone when it is CLEARLY not them. They used this technique with SCOOBY DOO! I would like to think that PROFESSIONAL FILM WRITERS can do a LITTLE bit better than that. Credit where credit is due, Denzel Washington was pretty darn good in this movie, considering he couldn't use 90% of his body. His co- star, in the form of Angelina Jolie was very weak and so annoying to watch on screen. The 'chemistry' between the two in the film is literally non-existent and the romance sub plot more shoehorned in than Wonder Woman in Batman V Superman.Michael Rooker wasn't that good in this movie, as much as I like him as an actor. Queen Latifa was fine in this movie. She gave a perfectly passable and average performance.Personally, I am not a huge fan of the cinematography in this movie. Some of the transitions irked me but there was nothing offensively bad about it so I can't criticise it THAT much.​ Pretentious films like this are just the worst. I can't recommend this hunk of junk. It is a bland, forgettable, generic serial killer flick that tried to act better than it really was. I'll rate it 3 Flying Rats out of 10.

Philip Noyce's The Bone Collector augments it's atmosphere in the obvious hopes of evoking memories of David Fincher's Sev7n (It's even got an actor who also appeared in that film) which for the most part it nicely does. Story wise, however, it's got entirely it's own thing going on and follows the ever popular path of the serial killer whodunit. In this almost audience interactive sub-genre, we are routinely presented with a host of different characters, some following archetype and others not so much. The identity of the killer could literally be anyone we see on screen at any time, even down to a tiny character who maybe shows up in one small scene. Then it's up to the viewer to race the protagonist towards a correct conclusion, a game which I've never been all that good at lol. This time it's Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie who step up to the batters's plate, hunting a very nasty individual who kidnaps people in locked taxi cabs and leaves them to die in various sadistic ways. Washington plays renowned criminal profiler and ex cop Lincoln Rhyme, left paralyzed from the neck down and bereft of any will to live following an accident. When his old cop buddy (Ed O Neil) shows up and pleads him to take a gander at the case files of the new killer, he reluctantly dusts off the old instincts and goes on the hunt. Problem is, he's a turnip from the neck down and needs an avatar with whom he has a rapport with and can carry out the leg work, so to speak. He takes a shine to young patrol woman Amelia Donaghy (Jolie) who is showing early signs of the same forensic brilliance after she responds to the scene of one of the murders. She becomes an extension of him, and together they work to smoke out the killer and put a stop to his crimes, also bringing some kind of peace to Rhyme's restless mind in the same stroke. They are hassled by the world's most belligerent and obnoxious Police Captain (Michael Rooker in full on asshole mode) and helped by Rhyme's kindly nurse assistant (a very good Queen Latifah). There's also work from Bobby Cannavle, Leland Orser, Luis Guzman, Mike Mcglone and David Warshofsky too. Noyce is a solid and very slick director (he did wonderful work in the Jack Ryan franchise, as well as the very underrated The Saint), gamely shunting his aesthetic into the serial killer vs. Detective corner. It's a decidedly grisly affair, despite the glossy sheen and big names, and almost veers into outright horror in places, but is always kept in line by the excellent chemistry and friendship between Jolie and Washington, who are both great on their own and as a team. Good stuff.

This serial killer thriller-chiller was severely underrated by critics on release – and I'm not sure why. The film is impossible to dislike and even if not magnificent or original it has all the right aspects. The score is good, the dark and moody photography excellent, even the script gives light to some interesting characterisations once in a while which is a bit of a surprise. The usual elements torn from the two most popular "serial killer" films of the 1990s are all present and correct but the film does have some interest in the shape of its central pairing, Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.Washington takes the role of Lincoln Rhyme, a top cop who gets his back broken and spends the rest of his days as a quadriplegic lying in a bed in his huge, spooky house. Although bedridden he's still a force to be reckoned with and Washington is typically excellent in the role, especially in the scenes where he deciphers puzzling clues and puts two and two together like a modern day Holmes. The sexy Angelina Jolie, on the other hand, is a young, tough female police officer who initially spars with Washington before growing to understand (and love?) him as their relationship deepens and they grow respect for each other.Fair enough, the plot of the serial killer is familiar and the deaths are all as unpleasant as they should be. Victims are eaten alive by rats and boiled to death by steam pipes. The film goes for a dark, unwholesome SEVEN vibe here which pays off dividends. These scenes come as no surprise but are pleasingly atmospheric and spooky, especially the hunting through dark underground tunnels. One thing I will say is that the identity of the killer is far too easy to guess; I had narrowed it down to two suspects early on and at the end my suspicions were confirmed. Saying that, the adrenaline-pump of the finale is excellent (if predictable), proving that you should never underestimate the power of the human will.The supporting cast is pretty efficient for this kind of movie, with nice turns from Queen Latifah (a real surprise, this one), and especially Michael Rooker who excels as the hard-nose police Captain in charge of the case. Plus we get some turns from distinguished character actors like Leland Orser (weird and geeky as always) and Luis Guzman (underused, sadly). Despite the lengthy running time the film fairly flies by, with a good pacing and some excellent suspenseful and taut sequences showing the killer trapping his victims. You could certainly do a lot worse, which I why I recommend this movie to fans of the genre.