I have no desire ever to see this movie again. But I did kind of enjoy it the first time. Dark, disturbing and tediously unwrapped, Taking Lives is a difficult watch that could really only be enjoyable as a first watch.

The plot is fairly standard for the murder mystery genre. A man named Martin has been killing obscure people and taking up their lives until he finds a new target. The psychology behind it all is kind of shaky, but oh well.

One day Costa (Ethan Hawke) witnesses a murder by this man and informs the authorities, getting attention from police officer Paquette (Oliver Martinez) and FBI detective Illeana (Angelina Jolie). In these twisty little capers everyone is a suspect and Taking Lives seems to be enjoying itself by making us play guessing games, even going as far as to set up blatantly false clues and what not.

This is one of those run of the mill murder stories set up entirely to get an audience reaction, including multiple jump scenes. At the very basest level, it achieves its goal, but there’s nothing seriously emotionally or intellectually engaging here.

What are engaging, however, are Hawke and Jolie. Both are absolutely fantastic here and manage to convince you of their characters at every moment. Too bad their performances are wasted on such a crappy script. Although, I have to admit – and maybe this is because of the performances – but I also enjoyed the characters played by Hawke and Jolie. If there’s anything of interest in this story, it’s these two characters themselves.

But the interest is only fleeting and in the moment. Looking back, there’re really just shadows in a dark script.

Year: