Review of Bone Collector, The

Introduction

Imagine if you will a bunch of overpaid, overweight producers, sitting around a large table in a plush Hollywood office. They want a new spin on the classic detective movie, but have long since run out of new ideas. They’ve had detectives in wheelchairs, bald detectives, old detectives, apparently incompetent and raincoat-wearing detectives and assorted foreign detectives. Things are looking very grim indeed until from one side of the oak table comes a shout:

“I know,” declares one of the execs, “what about a quadriplegic detective?”

The Bone Collector is the latest in a long line of successful Hollywood detective movies. Denzel Washington plays a onetime top homicide investigator, Lincoln Rhyme, who was crippled by an accident during a crime scene investigation. Confined to living the rest of his life in a state-of-the-art computerised bed, he is the local police department’s most respected forensic scientist.

Our story begins with a typically gruesome murder and a quick-witted young female police officer Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie). She discovers an apparent clue at the crime scene, stops an oncoming train so as not to ruin the evidence and takes a good selection of photographs. This information is subsequently fed back to Rhyme and together they work to piece together the motives behind the murder and build a psychological profile of the perpetrator.

Video

A superb anamorphic transfer makes the most of the vivid photography and the stereotypical dark and dingy locations in this movie. Presented in a 2.35 ratio, the picture is crisp and sharp with well defined colours and good contrast levels.

Audio

DD5.1 and DTS soundtracks are provided and offer a convincing soundstage with clear vocals. Surround effects are used to good effect in the key atmospheric scenes and are pretty effective.

Features

Firstly we have a commentary track with the director, Phillip Noyce. In this, Noyce tends to focus on the technical side of the movie and gives lots of information on how the CG and blue-screen effects were included into the movie. He goes on to explain his views on music and why he chose a certain composer for this project. There is some interesting stuff here, but is most suited to those with a desire to learn more about the nuts’n’bolts of filmmaking.

Other extras include a “Spotlight on Location” documentary, some production notes, cast and filmmakers information, a theatrical trailer, the standard Universal Showcase and some DVD-ROM features. All of these are pretty average, the best being the Spotlight piece. This gives some background to the film and has interviews with the key members of the cast.

Conclusion

This formulaic movie follows the multitudes of other detective flicks and offers little new in either deliver or plot. It is a pity that this movie relies so heavily on the exceedingly obscure clues that the murderer leaves at the crime scenes, as they are so far-out that it is difficult to look upon the characters as real people. The viewer therefore becomes distant from them and begins to realise that this is just a movie. As an example, at one of the murder sites the police find some pieces of oyster shell. Rhyme thinks awhile and then declares that this is a reference to a murder that took place a century ago at a Woolworth’s store and so the next victim must be there – seconds away from a bloody death! Mmmmm.

Having said that, the movie does flow well and there’s never really a dull moment. The acting is convincing throughout and Washington is particularly impressive in his role. Apparently he spent time with the likes of Christopher Reeve prior to filming to get an idea of what life is really like as a disabled person. Mention must also be made of Jolie’s performance. This promising young actress is obviously very talented (and beautiful) and shows great promise for her future career.

Nothing new then, but an enjoyable 2 hours nonetheless. If you are a fan of this type of cat and mouse movie, then this comes highly recommended. For the rest of us, it offers an interesting story, well acted and although a bit obscure and unoriginal, is ultimately quite rewarding.