Review of Taking Lives (2004) by Nick A — 28 Feb 2008

D.J. Caruso's makeover of Michael Pye's novel of the same title is one that should have never been made -- or at least not in the manner it was. Originally a thriller about a serial killer named Martin Asher (who'd been stealing the lives and identities of his victims ever since his presumed death at age 16), the film version of 'Taking Lives' never reaches the suspense, or thrills, that it intended.

Angelina Jolie gives a performance as petty as her character (an FBI profiler named Illeana Scott, who is assigned to help a Montreal investigative unit track Asher), though does so in the company of equally trivial bids by acting veterans Ethan Hawke (who plays James Costa, an independent artist and eyewitness to Asher's most recent murder), Oliver Martinez (one of the detectives on the case), and Kiefer Sutherland (as the suspected killer).

However, the real killer in (or of, I should say) this film is its incoherently adapted screenplay (which, by the way, took a team of four script doctors to finalize), which is made more unpleasant by the messy, inconsistent and unstylish direction of Caruso (whose 2007 release, 'Disturbia', is anything but).

'Taking Lives' is a prime example of a Hollywood misfire and a showy exhibit of humdrum cliches, predictable twists, and poor career choices by otherwise great actors.