Review of Suspect Zero (2004) by Cem "Regi" "Pixelmannen" . — 30 May 2011

Aaron Eckhart's main talent as an actor seems to be that he looks good in a suit. Not to say he doesn't have the acting chops to follow up, but sometimes its better for him to stand there and look good and not open up his mouth. Okay, so its more the scripts fault than Eckhart's, but I still became more annoyed with him as the movie went on. "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BEFORE? CIRCLE WITH A SLASH?" oh boy. Carrie-Anne Moss is underused and essentially pointless. The only reason she's there is... well I can't even figure it out. Ben Kingsley is the most interesting person in the cast, and if he were written better might have managed to hold my interest.

Since there are no other characters worth mentioning, this already doesn't bode well for the film. Its a 'thriller' with a plodding pace and very, very little tension. While it tries to emulate better serial killer films like "Seven" and "The Silence of the Lambs" it misses on the actual atmosphere and personality that breathe life into those films. By the finale, you really won't care what happens, and by then your belief will be so suspended that you won't be surprised if Jesus Christ himself starts tapdancing across the screen for no apparent reason.

Again, I don't blame Eckhart. There was no way for him to salvage his role without going full on Nic Cage in "The Wicker Man" and hamming it up to the extreme. Maybe Tommy Wiseau could have made it work, I don't know. As crime dramas and thrillers go, this is at the bottom of the heap. Don't waste your time with it unless you have watched all the other, better films in the genre. OR if you really like seeing Eckhart in a suit. Only in these two cases might you find entertainment value in any form from this film.