Suspect Zero (2004) Reviews

• Good mystery... for patient viewers

  BroadswordCallinDannyBoy2007-04-15

  After a series of grisly murders FBI Agent Mackelway suspects that they are linked. And that the killer may actually be after another serial killer who may or may not really exist. Naturally, his colleagues think that he is nuts, but that doesn't stop him from investigating. This movie is a perfect example of flawed masterpiece. The plot is very interesting. The plot twists are surprising. The performances are good. The film's originality good enough to enjoy and the suspense is great. However, despite this there is still something missing. Something so critical that even though the film shines in many respects by the end you feel like you could have gotten so much more. That missing element would have to be part pace and part presentation. The film starts very slowly, but picks up once more clues are revealed by Mackelway. Though this is at least halfway through the movie. Then the presentation is a bit weird. It makes the film standout from others, but it also makes it confusing in parts, namely the beginning. Then by the time it is finished you feel more like you have just watched a good X-Files episode. Overall it is a good mystery for patient audiences. --- 7/10 Rated R for grim violence

• Excellent production design... Compelling story...

  jantoniou2005-06-27

  Ripe with powerful imagery, "Suspect Zero" is a movie truly to be watched. Imagery and symbolism are central components of this movie, which pairs a simultaneously composed and tortured Ben Kingsley with the equally composed and tortured Aaron Eckhart, each playing former and current FBI agents trying to compose some meaning to the present from the wreckage of the past. They both have similar giftings - they are able to see the future. Kingsley in particular is tortured by his inability to control this gift. A highly prolific killer is running around the country, picking up children - dozens, probably hundreds of children. He tortures then kills them. We are never quite sure if Kingsley is this killer until close to the end, though the truth is pretty much telegraphed throughout. Eckhart is respectable as the straight-arrow FBI agent who went too far and got knocked down a few pegs in his career. His obsession with the case parallels Kingsley's and makes for an interesting contrast of styles. This movie falls on the side of intense. I admired the production values, which called for hundreds of well-composed charcoal drawings, many of which drive the plot. There is dark, sometimes demonic imagery, though I don't think it's laid on too thick. The visual style reminded me vaguely of "Seven," however no director can quite match Fincher's unique visual composition and cinematography. All the shots are carefully composed and the movie never really falters in its editing and pacing. This is a solid 7 stars. The premise was interesting, plot kept engaging and apace by timing, and the acting solid all around. Why not 10 of 10 in the rating? Perhaps because the movie ultimately didn't strike me as anything special, even given its relatively A-grade production and acting values. It was interesting, engaging, but ultimately didn't seem to amount to much. The story arc seemed to go off a cliff at the end. Certainly, still, a worthwhile viewing.

• Good thriller

  guidomaschio2007-08-15

  I liked it. The filming is really good and the twists, while not really enigmatic, are good enough to grasp your attention. Eckhart gives a good performance here, and he's really believable as the FBI officer in search for the truth. Kingsley on the contrary seems not at his usual standard, but this is also a consequence of the weirdness of his character. The start is really good, from the cinematic point of view too: you'll think it's a classic horror movie (which is not the case). The ending is not at par with the first 4/5 of the movie but at that point you'll be willing to forgive the director because the rest of the movie is OK.

• The kind of film that might have you stay awake when viewed on HBO at 2:30 in the morning

  Quinoa19842004-09-17

  Suspect Zero, a new mystery/horror/thriller/detective-FBI film, tries to make a lot of twists and turns in telling a story that is perhaps all-too-simple at the core. While the acting is fair by the leads (Kingsley, as a man who may or may not be the suspect, plays a tortured soul better than anyone I can think of; Eckhardt and Moss are credible if maybe mis-matched), the script is something of a turn-off. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense, despite a cameo from Robert Towne (uncredited on this site) as a professor who tries to give a little explaining to the FBI agent played by Eckhardt. It's not that the idea of it isn't bad, but it doesn't engage a viewer in a way other thrillers can. What the film has going for it is the direction. This is E. Elias Merhige's third film after his impenetrable art-house film Begotten (arguably one of the most pretentious, deranged, if unique debuts of the 90's) and small success Shadow of a Vampire (a film that gave Malkovich and Dafoe excellent screen time as silent film icons). The style is more than flamboyant- it's madness. Merhige tries his best to get inside the atmosphere that this killer and it's tracker(s) are in, and he succeeds by almost trying too hard. It reminded me of a kind of avant-garde approach to directing one of those HBO thrillers you might catch late at night. While he doesn't do a job as memorable as 'Shadow', and outside of Kingsley and maybe Eckhardt doesn't elicit very good acting, him and Michael (Raging Bull/Taxi Driver) Chapman bring out a technical aspect with tints and angles and shots that aren't too diverting. It's the kind of film that misses the mark of great, twisted, FBI-serial killer murder mysteries, and I would not seek it out to rent, but it didn't leave too sour of a taste in my mouth, and I didn't want to walk out of it midway either. It's average fare that could've been better, could've been a lot worse. (strong) C

• Something Was Lacking

  jmverville2005-07-02

  As I followed this film from beginning to end, I enjoyed the revelations of the various twists and I felt that the film even seemed to have a natural and proper progression to it, but at the same time, I felt that there was something very large missing. I think that the director ended up inserting the punchlines with too much subtlety, and the acting was too routine, while the action was too constant to be shocking or surprising... Whatever it may be, the film was lacking something large. The combination of all of the above seems to kill the feeling and plot of the film. I couldn't help but feel utterly indifferent in some parts of the film which are supposed to be exciting and thrilling, and this caused the film to let me down. I am not sure who is to blame, but in the end, this interesting plot with a lot of potential turned into 'just another movie.'