I'm really not bothered by the fact that The Watcher is one giant cliche from beginning to end. I'm bothered more by the fact that it's a badly executed cliche. Actually, in a sense, The Watcher is an amazing accomplishment because, let's be honest, it's got to take effort to make a movie this bad.
Okay, I'll be honest with you; I'm having some trouble thinking of what to say in this review because, well, there's so much wrong with The Watcher that I just can't think of where to begin. Or perhaps my mind has been permanently damaged by the incoherent and constant use of flashback in the movie, not the mention the slow motion. Don't get me started on the slow motion! Look! Keanu's dancing to Rob Zombie! Better shoot it in slow motion; it'll make him seem reeeaaal scary! What's that? A chase screen? Whip out that slow motion, raise the dramatic bar, yeah! Huh? Keanu's looking at someone? Make sure you use that slow motion because everyone knows that serial killers don't view the world at normal speed. Seriously, like half the movie is shot in slow motion, which only seems to make The Watcher seem even longer than it already is. And when you want a movie to end as badly as I wanted this one to end, you just don't want that, let me tell you.
And let's just leave the ridiculous plot and terrible acting out of this altogether and talk about the soundtrack for a moment. A lot of the film is filled with your pretty typical "scary movie" type of music, and it's overused and annoying in of itself. But what's up with all the techno rock stuff? In the middle of some really important, climatic scene, where someone's about to die or something, I'm not thinking it's a good idea to whip out the drum machine and turn up the bass.
And what's up with that phantom police car? I'm not kidding, at one point, James Spader's in the middle of a chase and a cop car appears out of nowhere, door open, keys in ignition, siren on, and Spader just hops in it and goes. Where did that car come from? I demand to know!
Well, needless to say, I hate this movie in a crazy, angry kind of way. There were points in the movie during which I was literally shaking my fist at the screen from the sheer irritation of it all. I should have just left the theater, and I'm not sure why I didn't. 1/10
Okay, I'll be honest with you; I'm having some trouble thinking of what to say in this review because, well, there's so much wrong with The Watcher that I just can't think of where to begin. Or perhaps my mind has been permanently damaged by the incoherent and constant use of flashback in the movie, not the mention the slow motion. Don't get me started on the slow motion! Look! Keanu's dancing to Rob Zombie! Better shoot it in slow motion; it'll make him seem reeeaaal scary! What's that? A chase screen? Whip out that slow motion, raise the dramatic bar, yeah! Huh? Keanu's looking at someone? Make sure you use that slow motion because everyone knows that serial killers don't view the world at normal speed. Seriously, like half the movie is shot in slow motion, which only seems to make The Watcher seem even longer than it already is. And when you want a movie to end as badly as I wanted this one to end, you just don't want that, let me tell you.
And let's just leave the ridiculous plot and terrible acting out of this altogether and talk about the soundtrack for a moment. A lot of the film is filled with your pretty typical "scary movie" type of music, and it's overused and annoying in of itself. But what's up with all the techno rock stuff? In the middle of some really important, climatic scene, where someone's about to die or something, I'm not thinking it's a good idea to whip out the drum machine and turn up the bass.
And what's up with that phantom police car? I'm not kidding, at one point, James Spader's in the middle of a chase and a cop car appears out of nowhere, door open, keys in ignition, siren on, and Spader just hops in it and goes. Where did that car come from? I demand to know!
Well, needless to say, I hate this movie in a crazy, angry kind of way. There were points in the movie during which I was literally shaking my fist at the screen from the sheer irritation of it all. I should have just left the theater, and I'm not sure why I didn't. 1/10