Mindhunters

[Remo D]

Hey--now I've seen TWO Christian Slater flops on the big screen this year!

But only one of them TRULY deserved it.

Maybe you got sick of waiting for MINDHUNTERS--it's been on the shelf for two years, and the dissolution of Dimension Pictures has finally squeezed it out for a (pathetic) theatrical run. Maybe you know what happens to most Renny Harlin pictures.

Okay. Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians. We're on an FBI serial killer simulation exercise on an isolated island. Oops--somebody's playing for keeps.

So--does it keep you guessing? And are the gimmick murders good? Well... sure! We've got experienced hands putting it together, some genuine surprises and some good nasty moments. Plausibility zero, watchability quite decent.

Let's dig a little deeper without getting into spoilers (and yes, spoilers can really ruin the fun here, believe it or not). We've got a decently cast bunch of characters--in addition to Slater (who had no idea that he had ALONE IN THE DARK in his future at the time), you've got L.L. Cool J, Patricia Velazquez from the MUMMY films and Val Kilmer among others. They're "types," but they're easy on the brain. Flaws (even for such a formula film)? Yep. There's one murder sequence that not even I could swallow at my most forgiving. Nice grisly scene, but considering everything that's going on, the character simply does the most mind-blowingly stupid thing imaginable (and we're supposed to be dealing with an FBI profiler candidate, okay?). Not even stress and panic excuse THIS scene.

Huge points towards the ending--there is a showdown scene that is so original and imaginative that I was ready to give 'em a huge "hats off" for the staging alone. Unfortunately, "quit when you're ahead" is not a factor here, and they've just gotta go for one more "surprise" that plops the whole thing right back down in the land of mediocrity.

So--MINDHUNTERS escapes going straight to video by the barest of threads, and absolutely nobody cares.

But I'm still reasonably happy I caught it.

Your move.

[Latte Thunder]

I saw a bootleg of this around this time last year and my reaction was similar to yours. It was marginally entertaining and extremely outlandish. Not one of the characters is believable and the entire scenario is cliched and foolish. The big kill scene set ups are so entirely complicated that you can't believe that anyone would go to such lengths when they could just shoot or even get up close and personal with a stabbing... But when have I let all these qualities of mediocrity get in the way of enjoying a movie? It's modern day exploitation that rides on the popularity of CSI and the growing momentum of Cold Case.

And I don't think I can remember a time when Val Kilmer was quite so hammy. I thought Carey Elwes was overdoing it in Saw, but Kilmer lays it on thicker than Iceman in Top Gun. Is he really this bad an actor?

[Remo D]

And I don't think I can remember a time when Val Kilmer was quite so hammy. I thought Carey Elwes was overdoing it in Saw, but Kilmer lays it on thicker than Iceman in Top Gun. Is he really this bad an actor?

Nah... he just needs a director who can keep him on a leash--sorta like Richard Harris. I personally have it in for Kilmer for forcing Richard Stanley off of ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, but you can't fault him for his performance in something like TOMBSTONE. As the suspiciously unconventional simulation expert in MINDHUNTERS, I thought he was well cast and amusing--just the sort of guy that would make the FBI say "HUH?"