Watcher, the

Burned-out FBI agent Jack Campbell (James Spader) has left LA and settled in Chicago. Still tormented by the nightmares of a serial killer that has not been caught, Jack, tries to put back the pieces of his life, with the help of his psychiatrist (Marisa Tomei), but his life is about to take a turn for the worse.

David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves) is the killer that got away, and he has followed Jack to Chicago. He has a nasty game he wants to play, and Jack is the key player.

Griffin will send Jack a photograph of each victim on the day he plans to murder them, if they are to stay alive, Jack must find them before 9:00pm.

As the game of cat and mouse heats up, so do the stakes, for Griffin knows what makes Jack tick, and the next victim may be someone very close to him.

"The Watcher" is a gripping thriller, that glues you to your seat from the first five minutes, and hurtles you through a twisted maze of madness. Very few movies can give away the identity of the killer in the opening and still be suspenseful, but "The Watcher" pulls it off by creating an atmosphere of tension that never lets up.

James Spader is (as always) very good as the mentally scarred FBI agent, and Keanu Reeves takes a nice turn in the role of the totally deranged killer.

Exciting plot, suspense, action, and very good acting make this a must own for thriller fans.

Nick Gonnella

Detective Joel Campbell (James Spader) had been tracking a serial killer (Keanu Reeves) for years, always one step behind and unable to catch him. This killer, nicknamed 'The Watcher', methodically stalked his victims and took his time killing them, a man who obviously enjoyed his work. Detective Campbell was obsessed with finding the killer until a special woman worked her way into his life. Unbeknownst to the detective, the Watcher was just as obsessed with Joel as Joel was with him. Convinced that the woman was coming between them, the Watcher made Joel's lover his next victim. Distraught and horrified, Joel retired to Chicago and tried to bury himself in pills and sleep to keep the nightmares at bay.

Bored with the new detective assigned to his case, the Watcher moved to Chicago to renew his relationship with Joel. At first, Joel wasn't willing to play so the Watcher changed the game. He would send a picture of his victim 24 hours before he killed her, giving Joel a fighting chance to save whomever he chose. Unable to resist the urge to try and rescue the innocent women that the Watcher was stalking, Joel found himself too late time and time again. Desperate, he turned to his psychologist, Dr. Polly Beilman (Marisa Tomei) for assistance, completely unaware that the Watcher was dogging his every step and watching his every move...

The Watcher was a decent psychological thriller, but nothing spectacular. I found James Spader completely convincing as a burned-out detective, but there was never really any spark of life that came, even when he was working on the case. He still seemed pretty detached and cold, even during the final scenes. This should have given Keanu Reeves a chance to really steal the show, but he was just not creepy enough in his role as the serial killer. He was okay, pretty uncoordinated in his dance scenes, but just okay. I would have liked to see someone with that cold, creepy, chilly air like Anthony Hopkins or someone completely unexpected in the role as the serial killer. Also, Marisa Tomei was definitely underutilized in the film - the director should have just saved his budget and cast an unknown in the role because she played such a small part. Still, this movie did have its moments and I thought it was an entertaining enough film - entertaining enough to rent and watch once, that is.

The stars of THE WATCHER have had interesting and varied careers. James Spader who burst on the scene in SEX LIES AND VIDEOTAPE and then went on to such flicks as SUPER NOVA, JACK'S BACK and the current tv series THE PRACTICE, plays Joel Campbell with a sense of emotional detachment and fierce reserve. He's almost like a powder keg waiting to erupt. For me, there was no cathartic eruption, and I felt Campbell should have been played by a more intense and complex actor, say like Sean Penn or Colin Farrell. Even so, Spader is effective in those scenes where this detachment works. He just doesn't bring any real intensity to his performance.
Keanu Reeves, ah, what can one say about this attractive if dramatically challenged thespian? Think of him in BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE...or DANGEROUS LIAISONS or BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA...or most all of his films. As animated as a cucumber. But, there is hope, I think. While far from great in this role, he does bring a lot of life to his role, which is surprisingly underwritten. But if he can achieve this type of talent as also displayed in THE GIFT, Keanu may become an actor yet.
Marisa Tomei of course won everyone's puzzled surprise when she won an Oscar for MY COUSIN VINNY. Remember---they even said that the actor presenting the award read the wrong name. Well, Marisa remained dormant for a while until she came back with her strong Oscar nominated performance for IN THE BEDROOM. Alas and alack, there's not much Tomei does in this role. Embarassingly underwritten, Tomei serves little purpose and shows little emotion in this psychiatrist role.
With all that in mind, it's still a very entertaining, tense serial killer thriller. The victims are all worth feeling for, and Reeves' brutal nonchalance is chilling. Joe Cherbanic's direction is erratically captivating and Marco Baltremi's score is eclectically satisfying.
THE WATCHER is a good movie; it just could have been better with three other actors.