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Bone Collector, The
Universal Pictures


4.1

based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 6 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for strong violent content including grisly images, and for language

Starring Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Mike McGlone, Luis Guzmán, Leland Orser, and John Benjamin Hickey

A diabolical killer whose brutal slayings leave a trail of cryptic messages hidden at the scene of the crime is loose on the streets of Manhattan. As the city lies in fear, a gifted but disabled detective (Washington) teams with a rookie street cop (Jolie) to go inside the mind of this terrifying madman and defeat him at his own game. (Universal Studios)

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Jeffery Deaver (book) Jeremy Iacone
DIRECTED BY:	Phillip Noyce
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: August 14, 2000 Video: March 14, 2000 Theatrical: November 5, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	118 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Slick entertainment.

TNT RoughCut Matt Kelsey

Both leads perform admirably.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A tribute to old-fashioned craftsmanship and skill both on and off the screen, it's as crisp and efficient as its law enforcement protagonists, able to make the best of its traditional genre elements.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A skeleton-thin thriller wrapped in glamorous production values.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Entertaining but terminally dopey.

Philadelphia Inquirer Gary Thompson

Weaknesses are confirmed in the movie's laughable climax.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Washington and Jolie earn their stripes here, but more texture would have resulted, I think, in more terror.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

Although the film disappoints in the final stretch (both the villain and his motive turn out to be very lame), it confidently thrills for most of its nearly two-hour length.

Newsweek Eric S. Arnold

May be formulaic...but many good recipes are.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Quickly assumes the characteristics of a bad slasher movie.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

This mild thriller's consistently dark atmosphere makes the scene-of-the-crime tableaux...transcend exploitation and even suggest a kind of feminist odyssey.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

This is neither a psychological thriller nor an erotic one, so any interest in the story is purely the work of its stars.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

The ending stinks.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A cinematic game that might be called Urban Creep Show, New York-style.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

There's only one good reason to see The Bone Collector, and her name is Angelina Jolie.

Time Richard Schickel

It's kind of fun--if you have the stomach for its more grisly passages.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

A middling urban thriller that's one part "Rear Window" and three parts "Seven."

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Often falls flat.

Film.com Robert Horton

Sometimes star power alone can keep you from walking out of a movie, and this is one of those times.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The quality of the acting is so much better than the material deserves.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Climaxes in an ending of such sleazy preposterousness that it's almost worth the price of admission alone.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Two gifted co-stars, Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, and the highly imaginative thriller specialist Phillip Noyce lend some luster and credibility to another borderline-absurd scenario.

Variety Dennis Harvey

Entertaining but never fully engrossing.

Miami Herald Sara Wildberger

The plot and characters are simultaneously far-fetched and cliched, the dialogue has that jocular, slightly slower than sitcom ring, and the ending is a righteously cheesy letdown.

Portland Oregonian Diana Abu-Jaber

The movie's atmosphere is moody and intense, bubbling like a caldron. Unfortunately, the broth turns out to be stone soup.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

This variation on the "Rear Window" format works best when director Noyce gives free rein to Washington's thoughtful charm.

Slate David Edelstein

A piece of exploitive schlock.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

You may have as much fun tearing it apart in its aftermath as you do watching it, but the fun is still genuine.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Abandon all hope of logic, you who enter here.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

If you have a strong stomach, a weak sense of disbelief, an active interest in Denzel Washington or Angelina Jolie and a temporarily inactive brain, you may enjoy it awhile.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

One of our very few consummate movie star actors, Washington can't quite elevate this dismal material as he's been able to do in the past, but he retains his dignity.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

By the last third, one is sick to death of seeing people tortured, no real catharsis is offered, and stupid is how one feels.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

So formulaic and predictable that you're bored even when you're scared.

The average user rating for this movie is 4.1 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Andrew M. gave it a 5:
It's a film that interperses scenes of intrigue and suspense, with scenes that are disinteresting and irrelevant. This alone ensures the suspense is not maintained and the film as a whole is devalued. Queen Latifah is a standout performace, though Washington and Jolie also carry the script as far as is possible. The story itself may not be overly original, but there is (or was) plenty of promise for an effective and fresh thriller to develop from it...but with this version, as has happened so many times before, the inevitable "Hollywoodisation" (dare I say it "Americanisation") effect takes over and the uninspired ending ensues.

Pat C. gave it a 2:
Boned again by a dumbed-down Hannibal. Get a clue, bloody murder only becomes scary when you are certain the perp can outthink you.

Jacques R. gave it a 4:
It's just a very ordinary "thriller."

Ryan M. gave it a 8:
Not as good as "Seven" better than "Kiss The Girls" so it stands in the middle I guess. The cast saves the film campletely, and the same old "twist" at the end is predictable.

Maria W. gave it a 2:
This movie lacks it all. This movie did not keep me in suspense nor was I really curious as to who the killer was. I couldn't wait for this movie to end when I decided to watch it for the one and only time!! Anybody who sees this.....try not to fall asleep during this movie!!

Ned D. gave it a 4:
Good performances from Washington and Jolie can't save what is essentially warmed-over "Lambs". Slow and lumbering with some of the most ridiculous coincidences and twists in many a moon.

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Bone Collector, The Universal Pictures

Bone Collector, The
Universal Pictures