← Back to Reviews
in
It's a very decent look into the psychology of a man who's so scared of evil that he will do anything, take all extreme measures to stop it, that he basically loses it in the process. Jack Nicholson did a great job in the lead. In just a few shots he was a little off, but overall he was really great. And it starts as a really nice mystery thriller.
But just... It falls short of being good, which aggravates me. The pacing is slow, way more so than is deemed neccessary. The Crossing Guard was a little bit slow too, but it felt justified for the kind of movie it is. It doesn't pretend to be anything else than a tale of morality rather than revenge. I knew that's what I would get, and I loved it. But this movie starts off as a straight-up mystery thriller, and stays that way for at least an hour. Then it just completely changes direction, and doesn't do anything with the mystery at all. Some parts are so boring you wonder what point they are supposed to serve. Do we really need to see Nicholson read a bedtime story to a child 4 times? Not to mention it's not even until the end I realized that "Hey, this is not a mystery thriller at all". The directing is so confusing that it's not made clear this is actually a character study, not a mystery.
I give it a 7, for the great first hour and the excellent acting. But I was disappointed.
It's a very decent look into the psychology of a man who's so scared of evil that he will do anything, take all extreme measures to stop it, that he basically loses it in the process. Jack Nicholson did a great job in the lead. In just a few shots he was a little off, but overall he was really great. And it starts as a really nice mystery thriller.
But just... It falls short of being good, which aggravates me. The pacing is slow, way more so than is deemed neccessary. The Crossing Guard was a little bit slow too, but it felt justified for the kind of movie it is. It doesn't pretend to be anything else than a tale of morality rather than revenge. I knew that's what I would get, and I loved it. But this movie starts off as a straight-up mystery thriller, and stays that way for at least an hour. Then it just completely changes direction, and doesn't do anything with the mystery at all. Some parts are so boring you wonder what point they are supposed to serve. Do we really need to see Nicholson read a bedtime story to a child 4 times? Not to mention it's not even until the end I realized that "Hey, this is not a mystery thriller at all". The directing is so confusing that it's not made clear this is actually a character study, not a mystery.
I give it a 7, for the great first hour and the excellent acting. But I was disappointed.