Taking Lives (2004)

Nice effects though.

Fantastic!

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

"Taking Lives" was made in a time that audiences were getting tired of those psychological / crime thrillers with a twist ending that have reached their zenith in the past decade with movies like "The Silence of the Lambs" ('91); "Knight Moves" ('92); "Basic Instinct" ('92); "Traces of Red" ('92); "Copycat" ('95); "Se7en" ('95); "Kiss the Girls" ('97); "The Bone Collector" ('99); "Resurrection" ('99) or "The Crimson Rivers" ('00) among lots of others. Some went successful with Academy Awards' nominations and wins ("The Silence of the Lambs"), others became cult favorites' from both critics and audiences ("Se7en"), and others, although they were good, disappeared into obscurity ("Knight Moves"), but the genre, inevitably, became over-saturated and the lack of a clever screenwriting, new plot ideas & gimmicks for it to work, it turned somewhat predictable in a way of "been there, done that"."Taking Lives" was the second motion picture for the associate producer turned director, D.J. Caruso, which his first movie, the indie "The Salton Sea", was critically very well received, even if it flopped at the Box Office and only achieved cult movie status later on the rental circuit. Like the predecessor, "Taking Lives" displays a stylish visual from a director that have an eye to compose shots, a skill to stage sequences and a cleverness to introduce some cool gimmicks (like the shot of two identical cagebirds in Gena Rowlands' house, before she reveals to Angelina Jolie's character the existence of her apparently deceased, twin sons), but unfortunely, the writing to the screen is below par and the editing is a bit messy, especially in the third act where the movie feels in a urge to finish, compressing the plot structure into pieces and removing all the logic along the way, therefore confusing the viewer.There's several things that doesn't make sense in the overall story, either in the characters' actions and reactions, like Olivier Martinez looking for Angie in the hotel in a rather suspicious manner that went nowhere (it was for the audience to believe that was him who was lurking under the bed when Angie's entered into the secret room in Gena Rowlands' house ? It makes absolute no sense by the end of the film...), also the contrived plot device in the elevator scene and the moment "deus ex machina" at the climax, which was so implausible that is beyond laughable.Every attempt to a character driven storytelling falls flat, there's a motif why Angie's character looks and acts so apathetic / morose / melancholic, but was left in the cutting room floor together with other key scenes that could have enriched the whole experience, giving the movie a more suspenseful tone and gloomy mood, instead of a 'flashy" pace to please the Generation Y (those scenes can be seen in the "deleted scenes" section of the DVD).The talented cast are the second best thing about the movie, after its elegant visuals, but even they can't do much against a silly screenplay and a poorly direction from Caruso, which was more concerned in about how the movie will look, than coherence of the plot and the performances of his actors': Angelina Jolie in "The Bone Collector" mode, sleepwalks through her role with only a couple of facial expressions, she could have done better, even with her obvious limitations as an actress; Ethan Hawke never was a great actor to begin with, his usual over-the-top hammy acting can be a distraction, but here he nails the two sides of his character and it kind of worked; Kiefer Sutherland, although being the third billed in the opening credits, he only had about 3 minutes of screentime, but his casting was important to fill a big name actor into the 'red herring' plot device, his work here reminds a lot of his role in Joel Schumacher's "Phone Booth" ('02) and Gena Rowlands is always a class act and a pleasure to watch her perform, even in a small role.The international French actors, Olivier Martinez, from "Unfaithful" ('02) & "S.W.A.T." ('03); Jean-Hugues Anglade, from "La Femme Nikita" ('90) & "Killing Zoe" ('94) and Tchéky Karyo, from "La Femme Nikita" ('90), "Bad Boys" ('95) & "The Patriot" ('00), complete the cast, giving their best in an underdeveloped and stereotyped characters. Freaky looking Paul Dano makes here an early appearance on the screen as the young psychopath.In short, "Taking Lives" was a step backwards after the previous "The Salton Sea", the director should have noted the discrepancy and implausibility of the screenplay before filming it, because being aesthetically appealing and skilfully staged isn't it all, if the movie seriously lacks common sense...

*** Spoilers Lie Ahead ***I like Angelina; she's undeniably pretty. Her lips are like surreal or perhaps unreal. I do not know.I rated her movie "Changeling" (which I own") higher. I absolutely loved her in "Gia" (also own) and "Girl Interrupted".I cannot point to what told me that the suspect, "person of interest" was her guy, but I screamed at the screen multiple times: "That's your guy!" Also "Don't do that!", when it was obvious she was about to bed him.Well, perhaps I should rethink my rating, because it definitely engaged me. No one screams at the screen without being caught up in it right?Did anyone else have the reaction I did?

Another movie about a serial killer. Nothing wrong with that to me because i like that kind of stuff. But it's just not as good as some classics in the genre. You almost immediately figure out who the killer is without them telling you and that's a bit of a bummer. There are a couple of twists after they try to mislead you but everyone that watches a lot of serial killer movies will see it coming. Nevertheless Taking Lives is still enjoyable to watch. Angelina Jolie is a beautiful woman and a good actress as well, so what's more to ask. Ethan Hawke plays his role like we are used to. The rest of the cast are also good, nothing to complain about. Taking Lives is certainly a good enough movie to have a nice evening in front of the big screen. Not the best in his genre but it doesn't really matter, it's still good enough to me.

Taking Lives (2004): Dir: D.J. Caruso / Cast: Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Gena Rowlands, Kiefer Sutherland, Olivier Martinez: Disappointing thriller about identity. It opens in 1983 where the killer first strikes causing an accident and consuming the identity of the victim. The case builds over the years with male victims with their face smashed in with their identity stolen. Gena Rowlands is cast as a woman who believes that it is her surviving twin son whom she hasn't had contact with for years. Angelina Jolie plays a profile expert on serial killers who is to assist in the case. Here is a thriller satisfied in jerking viewers around with its totally obvious revelations. Director D.J. Caruso brings style to the material but even his flashy lead fails to ignite life into this charade of shame. Prior to this he directed a lot of television that may very well be better than the material he deals with here. Jolie is suppose to be seen as this brilliant expert but the ending she plans out is total bull, and screwing the male lead is too cliché. Ethan Hawke is an an art dealer questioned by police but he is basically there to share the sack with Jolie. Gena Rowlands is seen briefly but who gives a crap, and Kiefer Sutherland is too obvious and we don't care about that either. Typical thriller that doesn't serve as an analysis. No, it serves as a total waste of time that is taking our lives when we plunk down and watch it. Score: 3 / 10