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Movies / On DVD / The Watcher
The Watcher

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The Watcher (2000)

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Reviews Counted:85

Fresh:9

Rotten:76

Average Rating:3.4/10

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

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Box Office: $9,062,295

Synopsis: FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) has gone into hiding. Traumatized and beaten down after years of pursuing psychotic killers in Los Angeles, he is trying to carve a new, less stressful, life... FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) has gone into hiding. Traumatized and beaten down after years of pursuing psychotic killers in Los Angeles, he is trying to carve a new, less stressful, life for himself in Chicago. But his guilty past follows him. He has only been in Chicago for a few months when there is a rash of gruesome murders, all of which follow a sickeningly familiar pattern: They are undoubtedly the work of one man -- David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves).

The cunning and tormenting Griffin prodded and eluded Campbell for years in Los Angeles. And now he has pursued his tracker to Chicago. For Griffin, the vicious, merciless killing of lonely young women has merely become a pretext for a sadistic game of cat and mouse game between himself and Campbell. Before each murder he sends the FBI agent a photograph of his intended victim and dares him to find her before he strikes again.

Each successive killing reminds Campbell of his past failures, dredging up feelings of helplessness and loss that he has been trying to suppress. And for his nemesis Griffin, Campell's exquisite torture becomes his entire reason for killing.

He meticulously stages one final murder, designed to destroy Campbell by confronting him with his guilt-plagued past. And unless Campbell can stop him, he will become the killer's ultimate victim. [More]

Starring: Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Robert Cicchini

Starring: Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Robert Cicchini, Chris Ellis, Ernie Hudson, Jenny McShane

Director: Joe Charbanic

Director: Joe Charbanic
Screenwriter: Clay Ayers, Joe Charbanic, David Elliott, Darcy Meyers
Producer: Nile Niami, Patrick Choi

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 20, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Watcher

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1 - 20 (sorted by source)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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Peters out like a late-night drunk when its threadbare plot and poorly drawn supporting characters start to stand out like a row of empty shot glasses.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/24/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

First-time director Joe Charbanic seems to have watched too many music videos.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

He likes to watch, but you might not.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The most fun you can have with this insultingly formulaic and utterly predictable film is trying to guess which cliché will be next.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Jason Korsner
Jason Korsner
BBC

To borrow a phrase from another Chicagoan, John Belushi, The Watcher is a 'but nooooo' movie.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is not a single original thought in The Watcher, but as these things go, it's not awful.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/10/05
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Reeves, as the killer, has the fairly thankless task of saying only what the movie needs him to say; he's limited by the fact that his killer has no real dimension or personality apart from his function as a plot device.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Is neither slick, clever nor especially thrilling.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Keyes
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org

An embarrassing hybrid of the worst elements of similar fare.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
01/01/00
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Citysearch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Paul Tatara
Paul Tatara
CNN.com

The sledgehammer soundtrack editing is also baffling, considering that Charbanic's background is in music videos.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Vera H-C Chan
Vera H-C Chan
Contra Costa Times
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Critical Eye | comment Comment
01/24/04
Mark Freeman
Mark Freeman
Critical Eye

A conventional slasher movie that's larded its bloodletting with pretension.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gary Mairs
Gary Mairs
culturevulture.net

Dreadful performances, scanty motivation and excruciating dialogue.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
12/16/02
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

A minor, but watchable, melodrama.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

We can't ignore the lack of anything resembling substance or purpose in The Watcher.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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