Do you want to see ‘The Watcher’?

Add to Netflix

The Watcher (2000)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 3.4/10
Reviews Counted: 88
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 79

The Watcher has Keanu Reeves cast against type, but the movie is short on thrills, suspense, and believability.

Average Rating: 3.3/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 23

The Watcher has Keanu Reeves cast against type, but the movie is short on thrills, suspense, and believability.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 2.7/5
User Ratings: 20,763

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

A detective is urged on by the lunatic he's trying to put behind bars in this crime thriller. Joel Campbell (James Spader) is a police detective who has recently relocated to Chicago after spending eight frustrating years trying to track down a vicious serial killer who has been terrorizing Los Angeles. However, the slayer, David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), doesn't want the game of cat and mouse to end; even though he previously put his murderous activities on hold, Griffin has started

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

Directed By: Joe Charbanic

Written By: Clay Ayers, Joe Charbanic, David Elliott, Darcy Meyers

In Theaters: Sep 8, 2000 Wide

On DVD: Sep 2, 2003

Box Office:$28.6M

Universal Pictures

The Watcher Trailer & Photos

Cast

James Spader
Joel Campbell
Marisa Tomei
Polly
Keanu Reeves
David Allen Griffin
Ernie Hudson
Ibby
Chris Ellis
Hollis
Robert Cicchini
Mitch
Yvonne Niami
Lisa
Jenny McShane
Diana
Gina Alexander
Sharon
Rebakah Louise Smith
Ellie
Joe Sikora
Skater
Tarri Markel

Critic Reviews for The Watcher

All Critics (102) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (80) | DVD (15)

You can't buy Keanu as a sadist, but you do worry about the guys who wrote the screenplay.

April 25, 2003 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

| Comment

Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

The Watcher isn't that hard to watch, but you could find better things to do with your eyes.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Detroit News

| Comment

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

The same sick story. Even the small touches seem stale.

January 1, 2000 Comment

Andy Seiler

USA Today

Top Critic

A hodgepodge of half-baked visual styles. Not many thrills, either.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Bob Graham

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

Is neither slick, clever nor especially thrilling.

January 1, 2000 Comment

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

The Watcher is thoroughly European, a nice find.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee

| Comment

Joe Baltake

Sacramento Bee

Top Critic

Tired plot and disastrous casting.

December 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

If I never see another scene in which a woman is bound and gagged, while her killer struts around the room basking in his own psychotic cleverness, I won't mind a bit.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

The scenario involving a seductive predator obsessed with female loners is not coherent enough to seduce an audience.

July 6, 2007 Full Review | Comment

Prairie Miller

Long Island Press

Not half bad as a rental.

September 23, 2006 Full Review Source: Supercala.com

| Comment

John Venable

Supercala.com

Nasty, sadistic, ugly and pointless.

December 10, 2005 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion

| Comment

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

One of the lamest serial killer thrillers of the post-Silence of the Lambs era.

May 4, 2005 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness

| Comment

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Dreadful performances, scanty motivation and excruciating dialogue.

December 16, 2002 Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK]

| Comment

Christopher Tookey

Daily Mail [UK]

The script sucks, the directing sucks, and, as much as I do like him, Keanu sucks.

December 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Film Threat

| Comment (1)

Ron Wells

Film Threat

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Watcher

View All

Cast: James Spader, Keanu Reeves, Marisa Tomei, Ernie Hudson, Chris Ellis, Robert Cicchini, Jenny McShane, Rich Komenich Director: Joe Charbanic, Jeff Jensen Summary: Burned out after failing to bust a sadistic serial killer in Los Angeles, FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) retires to Chicago. But the killer

August 7, 2009

♥˩ƳИИ ƜѲѲƉƧ♥

Super Reviewer

Tense, twisting plot, great ending. The relationship between the characters in this crime drama sets it apart from other serial killer movies. In fact, I would have like another 15 minutes in the movie to bring out these relationship even more. I would have like a little more elaboration on what happened in the past

June 11, 2009