Mindhunters (2004)
Directed by Renny Harlin
Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst. Based very loosely on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
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The deserted island town is out of The Twilight Zone: A theater marquee advertises The Third Man (1949), yet there also is a USA TODAY box.
In Mindhunters, a few of the FBI's finest criminal profilers-in-training congregate for one last test under the Al-Pacino-in- The Recruit tutelage of crackpot Harris (Val Kilmer) at a remote military facility that's home to a phantom cinema where The Third Man plays on an eternal loop.
It’s Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians” — or the 1985 film “Clue,” if you prefer — by way of “Seven” (because, you see, these FBI profilers are being profiled by the murderer and dispatched according to their individual strengths and weaknesses).
Eion Bailey ( Almost Famous ), Clifton Collins Jr. (The Last Castle) and Will Kemp ( Van Helsing ) offer strong support as the remaining suspects and/or victims.
Eion Bailey ("Almost Famous"), Clifton Collins Jr. ("The Last Castle") and Will Kemp ( "Van Helsing" ) round out the team.
The movie is a shameless retread of the old formula that gave us the considerably wittier "And Then There Were None," "Ten Little Indians," and "The Last of Sheila," in which a group is brought together, only to be murdered one by one.
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Patricia Velasquez (The Mummy Returns), Will Kemp (Van Helsing), and Clifton Collins, Jr. (The Hillside Strangler) round out the cast.
I saw that back to back with a rerun of Cliffhanger, and I thought that was it.
Unlike most music video-trainedwannabes, veteran pop-junk director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2,Cliffhanger) brings in a crisp, unpretentious flick.
In any case, it's no wonder this movie did poorly at the box office, despite its high-profile cast--Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, LL Cool J--and its veteran action director, Renny Harlin ("Nightmare on Elm Street 4," "Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger," "Cutthroat Island," "Deep Blue Sea," "Driven," "Exorcist: The Beginning").
Renny Harlin can do overt silliness (Cliffhanger, Cutthroat Island), or he can do grandiose, perhaps unwarranted self-righteousness ( Exorcist: The Beginning ).
Not that Finish director Renny Harlin ("Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger") and South African writer Wayne Kramer (the excellent "The Cooler" ) don't give it a responsible try.
As is his trademark, Harlin (who, after successfully directing Die Hard 2, was regarded as an A-list action filmmaker) proves capable of generating high voltage suspense when the script calls for it.
Unlike most music video-trainedwannabes, veteran pop-junk director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2,Cliffhanger) brings in a crisp, unpretentious flick.
In any case, it's no wonder this movie did poorly at the box office, despite its high-profile cast--Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, LL Cool J--and its veteran action director, Renny Harlin ("Nightmare on Elm Street 4," "Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger," "Cutthroat Island," "Deep Blue Sea," "Driven," "Exorcist: The Beginning").
Not that Finish director Renny Harlin ("Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger") and South African writer Wayne Kramer (the excellent "The Cooler" ) don't give it a responsible try.
In any case, it's no wonder this movie did poorly at the box office, despite its high-profile cast--Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, LL Cool J--and its veteran action director, Renny Harlin ("Nightmare on Elm Street 4," "Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger," "Cutthroat Island," "Deep Blue Sea," "Driven," "Exorcist: The Beginning").
Renny Harlin can do overt silliness (Cliffhanger, Cutthroat Island), or he can do grandiose, perhaps unwarranted self-righteousness ( Exorcist: The Beginning ).
But then in 2001 I hit bottom with Driven.
In any case, it's no wonder this movie did poorly at the box office, despite its high-profile cast--Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, LL Cool J--and its veteran action director, Renny Harlin ("Nightmare on Elm Street 4," "Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger," "Cutthroat Island," "Deep Blue Sea," "Driven," "Exorcist: The Beginning").
Say what you will about Renny Harlin’s taste in movies, but the man is a world-class filmmaker — considering the schlock he normally chooses to direct, it is at least somewhat impressive that up until now, I have never disliked a Renny Harlin film (note: I have not seen Driven).
Some of the ensuing twists are genuinely surprising, primarily due to the willingness of the audacious B-action maven Harlin ("Driven") to go so quickly and completely over the top with them.