Retro Review: The Bone Collector (1999)

The Bone Collector
1999
Cast: Denzil Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Luis Guzman, Leland Orser, Ed O'Neil 
Genre: Crime Thriller 
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $151 million

Plot: A quadriplegic ex-homicide detective and his partner track down a serial killer who is terrorizing New York City

'Sweet Little (Murder) Mystery'

Based on the novel by Jeffrey Deaver, The Bone Collector follows Lincoln Rhyme: a paraplegic forensic specialist, an NYPD homicide investigator and a team of police officers that include beat-patrol rookie cop Amelia (Angelina Jolie) and Paulie (Ed O'Neil) in their hunt and capture of a serial killer, after a string of mysterious murders in and around New York crop up.  

With a slow-moving plot, the film managed to keep me glued and engaged to the suspense that it had me on the edge of my seat despite the unravelling of the serial killer, which might have thrown a lot of people off. But it made the story even more intense and entertaining to watch. The more the film went on, the more I got into the plot, as you and I wondered what might happen next. Both Denzel and Angelina gave impressive turns in their roles, Lincoln and Amelia as we see in action two performers, way before they reached mega-stardom, looking assured as they carried this movie from beginning to end.

One of Angelina Jolie's earlier performances on the big screen, she was relatively unknown at this time, it is also one of her most impressive; as Amelia, she is given a lot to do and plays a significant role in the story, and whilst Denzel is bed-bound 99% of the time in this film, as Lincoln he still manages to dig deep and aid Amelia. Given that he spends so much time unable to move about, he has to rely a lot on his nurse, Thelma (Queen Latifah) and Amelia. This plot device enabled the film to be better and feel not as conventional as other serial killer-based crime thrillers.  

It's not as graphically shocking nor exceedingly violent as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs, although The Bone Collector appears to be going for the typical movie-going audience demographic, given the strength of the main leads; the headline double act in Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie illicit good chemistry and they came across as believable and convincing as their characters. To this day, it still holds up well. Phillip Noyce (responsible for the Patriot Games & Clear and Present Danger, and lest we can forget, The Saint and the sleaze fest, Sliver) might have stated he wasn't a fan of this movie and felt as if he was part of an assembly line of 1990s psychological thrillers. 

The Bone Collector has become one of my favourite thrillers that doubles up as a reasonably tense, solid and satisfying cat-and-mouse murder mystery with insightful characters, an impressive cast, and a somewhat convincing villain to boot. It works thanks to the kills, surprising plot twists and gripping tension. It needed real panic and urgency, and the kills, which, whilst they were all right, required to have been more gory and gruesome. I was also a little baffled by the killer's motivations after his identity was revealed; it resulted in more questions than answers. 

Final Verdict:

The 1990s was an interesting period for film, especially for thrillers and they were all the rage; lots of great ones, some not-so-good ones, and some films that flew under the radar and went unnoticed. Whilst The Bone Collector is no masterpiece and is also cliched, it is a different spin on the serial killer concept, further elevated by Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington.

Overall:

Movie Review: Skyscraper (2018)

Skyscraper

2018

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Roland Moller, Noah Taylor, Byron Mann

Genre: Action Thriller 

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $304 million 

Plot: A security expert must infiltrate a burning skyscraper, 225 stories above ground, when his family is trapped inside by criminals 

'Oh So Seen-It All-Before Actioner, Which Will Be Forgotten About'

Skyscraper was developed in China in 2016 when Legendary Entertainment won a bidding war for an action-adventure flick, set in Hong Kong and China. It under-performed, grossing over $300 million on a $125 million on the production. 

Will Sawyer is a former FBI hostage Rescue Team Leader and U.S war veteran who currently analyses security for skyscrapers. Whilst on assignment in Hong Kong, Will finds out he is being framed for an arson that took place at the tallest and safest building in the world, and thus, has to find those responsible, to clear his name AND to rescue his family who are trapped.  

Johnson was all right, but his charms were nowhere to be seen, the villain was forgettable and nothing worth shouting about; plus, despite the production, it had the feel of an action B-movie deemed for Netflix status, as opposed to the big screen, despite the millions spent on the special FX. Neve Campbell's character, whilst she had her moments, I feel like she was more on the sidelines and Campbell wasn't given much to do.

Nowhere as good as Die Hard, slightly better than Rampage, but that isn't saying much. If you take away Dwayne Johnson, I wouldn't have shown much interest that this would be a film you can easily pass up. It averages between mediocre and meh I couldn't choose between the two; not completely unwatchable -, rather the premise worked so much better in the late 1980s, early to mid-1990s when these types of plots in action films had a bit more substance and charm going for them. 

Skyscraper tries, but, as with so many traditional Hollywood action films of the non-Marvel & DCU franchises, released in the post-1990s, it is relatively tame and clunky; no big surprises or twists and it takes a long time for the film to get going. 

It's heavy on emotional drama and is not creative or inventive enough when it comes to ideas. There is nothing new and the fights weren't meaty enough. Seems like this was made to cater towards the Chinese market and less so to Western audiences, and seeing the production values it shows. 

It never tries to step out of the shadows of other action flicks that have the same formula, although one thing it does do is the script allows Dwayne Johnson to act a little more. Sandwiched in between a disaster movie and an all-around actioner, 2018's Skyscraper is too cliched and predictable, but this would have been offset had the story had plenty of weight. 

Final Verdict: 

It's one of those efforts that had the potential to emerge as one of the best and most entertaining action films of the 21st century, but only when it is executed flawlessly. When the director's previous credits include comedies such as Johnson's Central Intelligence, We're the Millers and Dodgeball, sadly, Thurber's efforts do not go far enough.  

It delivers as a cheap rental or something you'd watch on TV, possibly once. 

After seeing this on Channel 4 for the first time, I will probably skip this one. 

Overall: