The Bone Collector | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I never really review old/er movies, and I have no idea why. I guess it's the thought process that, if a film isn't new, everyone will have already seen it. But judging by how many older movies I've been watching, and how many people I know who have yet to see them, I can't see how it would be a bad idea to bring some older movies back into current circulation - starting with this one, which came out in 1999.

Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) is a police officer who is the person to find the first body in a series of seemingly unsolvable murders. The person needed to solve the case is quadriplegic forensic criminology expert  Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington). Together, Rhyme and Amelia try to get to the bottom of the crimes before more people become victims of this sadistic killer.

This is a movie that both my parents told me to watch, which meant that going in, I had really high expectations.

The beginning scene of the movie, in the taxi, is the kind of real-life horror that horror movies always miss. As scary as ghosts and other paranormal entities are, is there anything scarier than a human being who decides to be evil, just because?

This movie is more or less a typical cop drama - a bit like a feature-length episode of Criminal Minds (back in the day when it was good). What makes it stand out from other usual cop dramas is the characters of Amelia Donaghy and Lincoln Rhyme.
Not only are they great and unique characters in their own right, but what makes them stand out is the relationship that they have with each other. Because of course they're solving a case, but at the same time, Rhyme has completely taken Amelia under his wing and becomes, not only her sounding board, but the person that pushes her to strive for better. And in turn, being around her gives Rhyme a purpose that he didn't have before. The characters compliment each other really well.

It's the kind of film that anyone who watches crime documentaries will love, because you can completely see Rhyme's process of working out details about the murders. It's as interesting as it is entertaining.

However, there are some parts of the film that fall flat. For one, aside from the two main characters, none of the other characters are people that you root for. They're accessories to the movie, but you don't care about them. Which means that if you don't take to the characters of Rhyme and Amelia, then this will probably be a hard film to watch because there's no one to care about.

Because the thing is, as much as Rhyme is a really unique, interesting character, I personally found that he wasn't a character that I either liked or disliked, he was just... there. I appreciated what he was doing, but when something about his future plans is revealed, I couldn't bring myself to care.

And where I've mentioned that it's like a long episode of Criminal Minds, I've seen episodes of Criminal Minds that were better. They had a better murderer, better side characters, and were just overall more interesting. But you can definitely see how films like this paved the way for amazing shows like Criminal Minds.

Overall, an enjoyable movie with an interesting plot, even if it does lag in the middle.

6.5/10

Lou