Film Review: The Watcher (2000)
Most of cinemagoers can’t imagine Keanu Reeves playing anything other than “cool” heroic larger-than-life protagonist. However, like most actors, Reeves occasionally experimented with playing something different. Roughly at the same time when he played wife-beating redneck in The Gift, he also played the villain in The Watcher, 2000 thriller directed by Joe Charbanic.
The protagonist, played by James Spader, is former FBI Special Agent Joel Campbell. After frustratingly unsuccessful attempt to catch serial killer in Los Angeles, Campbell has left FBI and moved to Chicago in hope to find some peace of mind and get rid of pill addiction. However, the killer (played by Reeves) decides to wreck Campbell’s plans. He too moves to Chicago and begins taunting former FBI agent by sending him photos of his future victims and leaving him 24 hours to try stopping the murders.
Idea of Reeves playing against the type wasn’t bad per se, since he did decent job in Sam Raimi’s The Gift. This film was, however, directed by Reeves' friend Joe Charbanic who obviously lacked Raimi’s film making skills. The Watcher looks terrible and the script by David Elliott and Clay Ayers employs all the possible serial killer cliches, including some that are more generic, like the final showdown in abandoned warehouse. But the worst disappointment is general quality of acting. Reeves was nominated for Razzie for Worst Supporting and anyone watching this film can find that justified, due to his wooden and unconvincing performance. Reeves was actually quite aware of the film’s problems and later explained that he actually participated in The Watcher against his will; what began as small favour to a friend turned into fraud, when his assistant forged his signature on the contract. Oscar-winning Marisa Tomei is even more disappointing in the role of Campbell’s psychotherapist; most of the times she looks like someone took shotgun and forced her to come to the set. The only thing that makes The Watcher watchable is James Spader, actor with ability to make even the most mediocre material look interesting. His valiant efforts, however, aren’t enough to compensate for the complete failure of almost anyone else in this film, so The Watcher, one of the most embarrassing films of Reeves’ career, quickly and deservedly sank into oblivion.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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