Cast
Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington)
Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie)
Thelma (Queen Latifah)
Paulie Selitto (Ed O' Neill)
Howard Cheney (Michael Rooker)
Arthur Solomon (Mike McGlone)

Directed by Phillip Noyce Written by Jeremy Iacone

Rated R for strong violent content, graphic images, and language
Running Time: 118 minutes Distributed by Universal

The Bone Collector is a thriller that is nicely presented, but overall becomes mediocre. Lincoln Rhyme (Washington) is a great frensics detective that is accidentally paralyzed in the line of duty. Amelia Donaghy (Jolie) is a street-smart cop that discovers a victim of a newly emerged serial killer. Now, the two opposites must work together to stop this horrific killer before he chooses his next victim.

The Bone Collector is one of those suspense movies that start off well, but ends up lame.

Philip Noyce directed The Bone Collector. Noyce's previous credits include; Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Saint. Noyce is a director that enjoys holding his audiences on the edge of their seats. Noyce, however, comes up short with The Bone Collector. Overall the sequencing in the film is well done, but it is just the little choices made by Noyce that bother me. An example is his choice to use computer-generated rats during an intense scene with an innocent victim. In my opinion, the computer generated rat looked cheap, when truthfully the effect was probably expensive.

Jeremy Iacone wrote The Bone Collector. Iacone's script has a weak climatic ending and lacks effective character development. The ending is the weakness in this film because the whole film is really hyped up and then in the last twenty minutes it hits rock bottom. The strength in Iacone's script is the nice presentation of a different type of serial killer and different type of cop (Lincoln's paralyzed state) on his tail.

The acting is overall nicely done in The Bone Collector. Though Denzel Washington spends the whole movie laid up in a bed, his performance is productive. In addition, Angelina Jolie holds her own with Washington as Amelia. Washington and Jolie develop credible chemistry, which becomes beneficial and enjoyable to the film. Also, Queen Latifah delivers a likable performance as Thelma, who is Lincoln's personal nurse. Outside of these three actors, the rest of the cast is stale. An example is Michael Rooker, who plays the predictable and obsessive police captain. Rooker's performance becomes very dull and cold.

The Bone Collector does have some surprising moments and a couple of nice performances. However, I saw the film letting it's audience down with its dumb climax.

Report Card Grade: C

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