The Bone Collector [2000]

Noyce expertly builds palpable tension around a series of gruesome murders that lead us into the darkest nooks of New York City.

Now a bedridden quadriplegic prone to life-threatening seizures and suicidal depression, forensics detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) gets a new lease on life with a sharp young beat cop (Angelina Jolie) who's a wizard at analyzing crime scenes. She does field work while he deciphers clues from his high-tech Manhattan loft, and as they narrow the search their lives are increasingly endangered. As this formulaic plot grows mouldy, Noyce resorts to narrative shortcuts, using perfunctory scenes to manipulate the viewer and taking morbid pleasure in his revelation of the murder scenes. And yet it all works, to a point, and the cast (including Queen Latifah and Luiz Guzmán) is much better than the material. If you're looking for a few good thrills, The Bone Collector is a pretty safe bet. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

In fact, kudos to the acting all around here. Denzel Washington does very well considering his character, Rhyme, is bed-ridden, and Luis Guzman is cast against type here, which is a refreshing watch.

The only thing that is not refreshing about this film, however, is the occasionally stale character stereotypes and plot cliches.

It's the usual murderer killing spree, which the police have to stop before the next murder, thanks to the killer leaving some handy clues. The actual murder sites are interesting viewing, as we watch Jolie investigate, with Washington advising her over the radio. These scenes are well set up, occasionally creepy, and quite tense.

But the film can hit boring patches inbetween the murder sites that really drag. Coupled with the occasional stilted, cliched dialogue, these things really let the film down.

Still, it has a cracking ending, with a few surprises on the way, and people will keep guessing all the way through. Which is good, because the pay-off is really great...