| 50 |
TNT RoughCut
What distinguishes The Watcher from all the films it consciously or unconsciously emulates is the intermittently witty, offbeat writing of debuting screenwriter David Elliot.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Sun-Times
The actors cannot be faulted. They bring more to the story than it really deserves.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Reader
This thriller largely succeeds in putting quotation marks around its use of genre conventions, mixing subtlety and overkill to create a pensive mood that transcends the plot.
|
| 50 |
USA Today
It's still the same sick story. Even the small touches seem stale.
|
| 50 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Has its compelling moments, and its playfully inventive ones, too.
|
| 42 |
Entertainment Weekly
Reeves is a stiff dancer and he delivers his lines in a full leather jacket monotone.
|
| 41 |
Mr. Showbiz
The satisfaction of watching it essentially boils down to seeing whether or not Reeves can pull it off.
|
| 40 |
Austin Chronicle
Leaves me wanting to watch Tomei and company in something more worthy of their abilities.
|
| 40 |
TV Guide
If Reeves weren't onboard this picture would have gone straight to video.
|
| 38 |
Chicago Tribune
Sluggish and preposterous, full of violence and cliches.
|
| 38 |
Boston Globe
Isn't even worth a glance.
|
| 30 |
Dallas Observer
Once the terror ends and the credits roll, we finally get to the best part: a merciful escape.
|
| 25 |
San Francisco Chronicle
A hodgepodge of half-baked visual styles can't disguise the fact that this dismal thriller is all situation and no story.
|
| 25 |
Baltimore Sun
A story about unmotivated characters trapped in an ill-conceived plot.
|
| 25 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
It's lively but fails to disguise the fact that his (Charbanic) script is a dud and his career in videos has taught him little about the art of narrative storytelling.
|
| 25 |
Christian Science Monitor
The picture's real interest lies in detailing the villain's sadistic crimes, though, and this is rarely fun or edifying to watch.
|
| 25 |
New York Post
A crass, mechanical attempt at a thriller that should have gone straight to video.
|
| 25 |
New York Daily News
The movie is paint-by-numbers with several numbers skipped.
|
| 20 |
Los Angeles Times
Neither acutely suspenseful nor particularly thrilling but instead mainly numbing.
|
| 20 |
Variety
Emerges as a formulaic thriller that plays more like direct-to-video fare than a megaplex-worthy feature.
|
| 20 |
Salon.com
It stinks pretty bad, but not so bad you'd go out of your way to avoid it.
|
| 20 |
LA Weekly
Fails to fulfill.
|
| 20 |
Village Voice
Mark Holcomb
Sidesteps any juicy subtext in favor of routine chase-movie thrills.
|
| 15 |
TNT RoughCut
An uninspired, standard-issue mimeo whose only distinguishing feature is a reversal in its casting.
|
| 10 |
Film.com
A dismal new serial-killer thing.
|
| 10 |
The New York Times
By the end of The Watcher you'll need your own prescription.
|
| 10 |
Washington Post
It's something no one should watch.
|
| 0 |
Miami Herald
A shockingly, unbelievably bad movie.
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