The Fan (Full Screen)

As an baseball fan I was interested in watching the movie along with its great cast of actors. Problem is that the film is totally unbelievable in regards to the script. In no way possible could two things go unsolved and allowed to happen. The first being the murder of JUAN PRIMO. No way possible an average 'JOE' could walk off the street without proper credentials and be granted access to the suana where Primo is relaxing. Secondly, there is no possible way a fan could simply kill and then replace an Major League Baseball umpire and then proceed to umpire/call the game. Not going to happen. As for the rest of the script, if not for the cast it would just be a plain thriller with average thrill moments. Watch but learn nothing.

I truthfully for some reason liked this movie when it came out years ago. I recently rented it again and thought, what was I thinking? The story is incredibly unbelievable (no way the murder of Primo would have gone without being solved for more than a few hours) and the script is just poorly written. I found myself getting confused with what was going on do to random jumps from one thing to another. There were many things that could have been left out or shown more of to make the story flow better. The acting was pretty good (though not the best work from anyone) for what was written. Now, when I first saw this movie I liked the soundtrack to it. Watching it again, I realize that the Nine Inch Nails song Closer, which I am a fan of all versions, was used so often it was ridiculous. It seemed like they were trying to go for Darth Vader like theme from Star Wars but failed miserably.

All around, it wasn't horrible but its not in my top hundred. DeNiro has played this character way too many times and because of that it was slightly boring. Give it a try if you've seen everything else more than once. I wouldn't pay for it though if I were you.

Robert DiNiro completes a quintent of bad guy/psycho roles for the 1990's (AWAKENINGS, THIS BOY'S LIFE, CAPE FEAR,JACKIE BROWN) with THE FAN. With a resurgence of Baseball movies beginning in the late 1980's, this has got to be one of the worst of the bunch and the worst of the five DiNiro pictures. The pairing of DiNiro (who literally phones in his performance here)and Wesley Snipes (Is actually convincing as a baseball player. Remmeber his Willie Mays Hays in MAJOR LEAGUE?)in what could have been an interesting thriller turns into another predictable slasher-type film. DiNiro (Gil Renard) becomes an obsessed fan to Wesley Snipes superstar Baseball Player(Bobby Rayburn). There is some social commentary about modern sports and the responsibility of overpaid athletes but all commentary is drowned out by a weak script and weak direction. Also, there is a scene that most baseball purists have been complaining about in this film. This is the sequence where the umpires let a baseball game keep going and it is pouring rain. Director Tony Scott in his own directorial style shows the sequence in slow-motion with players slipping and sliding, with water and mud flying all over the place, all for dramatic purposes and creative license. Overall, a weak sports film, a weak thriller, and wasted talent makes THE FAN a very forgettable film.