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The thriller genre has been well explored and perfected over decades of cinema. While some familiar elements and conventions are to be expected in a new release, you would expect, at the very least, that a new entry tops the previous ones.

And sadly, Deception does not. The movie almost feels like a remake of Curtis Hanson's Bad Influence. A movie that was made almost twenty years ago and features two main characters that are carbon copies of those of McGregor and Jackman, only they were played respectively by James Spader and Rob Lowe.

Whatever "twists" are found in Deception, you see them coming from a mile and they fall flat. The acting? Everybody seems to be cashing his check. One-dimensional characters and an aimless plot make for a boring two hours. Even the "list" subplot feels tacked on and doesn't even provide any enjoyment, nor does it add anything to the film.

The photography is amazing but this is truly a poor Hollywood movie and one that you will be better off passing on, unless you are a die-hard fan of the genre or one of the main actors featured. All in all, a tremendous waste of talent and resources due to a crappy script.

Two things to say about this film.

Firstly, what an astoundingly rubbish title for a movie. "Deception"??? Oh, come on. Can you think of a more non-committal, less interesting, less imaginative title for a movie? I can't. All thrillers are about deception, of one kind or another.

"Deception" originally went into production under the title "The List". Hmm... Well... OK. I admit it. That title is also pretty bad. Then, "Deception" was going to be called "The Tourist". Now, I kind of like that. Sounds art house and kind of strange. Conjures up images of an observer, an outsider. Somebody not in the loop. In fact, pretty much the character that Ewan McGregor plays.

Secondly, what a completely rubbish movie! OK, maybe not completely rubbish. Just mostly rubbish.

"Deception" is a good 20 minutes too long. After a while it just seems to go on and on. The climax is misjudged and mistimed. The sex is typical Movies 24 soft core erotica, or maybe a Friday night Channel 5 movie from the early Noughties. You know the kind of thing. Soft focus humping to a soundtrack of screaming saxophone driven jazz. (Mind you don't trip over the cliché, there chief!) Also, every plot twist in "Deception" is signposted way in advance. If you don't get at least one of the major plot twists then, frankly, you really should give up watching movies. Pretty lame, pretty dull, pretty bad movie.

I said 'mostly rubbish', so some of it must have been good. Yes?

I did like the film's chilly, European ambiance. I liked the idea of powerful people, too isolated and too busy to develop human relationships. I liked Hugh Jackman's well dressed and cold instigator, Ewan McGregor's lonely accountant and Michelle Williams' bruised vulnerability. I thought all three leads made the most of their underwritten roles, but sadly it was not enough.

There is plenty of space in this world for a good, sexualised thriller (see the original "Basic Instinct"), but sadly "Deception" was nothing like a good sexualised thriller.

The writing and direction here are solid, but unspectacular, and if that were all there was, the movie, too, would be unspectacular. But what drives the entire endeavor is the acting. Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor are among that small group of actors who never give a bad performance, and that's certainly the case here. Michelle Williams, though, is another matter altogether: she is SO good, and SO deep, and SO nuanced, that she rises above what she had been in the past and simply makes this movie her own. Hers is one of those performances (there are two scenes where she delivers voluminous messages simply by a look, without a single word) that make you wholly reevaluate the actor's skill and intelligence; at least, it did that for me: I changed my opinion of her and her abilities, and I won't be able to look at her again in the way I had before. And I like experiencing that, so I like the movie much more for that fact. If you're a Michelle Williams fan, you really HAVE to see this film.

Its not perfect by no means, the script has much to be desired and at times the acting was unconvincing. But when I went into the Cinema I wasn't expecting anything mind-blowing, in fact I wasn't expecting anything at all. Surprisingly I didn't seam to find the movie overly predictable, however at times its dramatically far fetched. Notably the complete stupidity of a shooting occurring in broad day light in a busy European city going unnoticed. All this being said, the movie is entertaining. I wasn't at any moment particularly board with its rather slow beginning moving on to a fast paces final hour. Surprisingly Ewan McGregor seamed to portray the role fairly well with the exception of a few noticeable accent slips. Michelle Williams on the other hand has much to be desired. In no way am I suggesting she's a great actress but I was surprised at how unconvincingly she portrays a rather simple role. Its definitely a mixed bag, where on one hand its very engaging and on the other it has obvious flaws. I recommend it, you'll be thoroughly entertained but try not going in the theatre expecting to much.

Jonathan McQuarry, is an accountant who strikes up a friendship with a lawyer called Wyatt Bose. After accidentally swapping phones, McQuarry starts getting calls from women who are part of a group of people who meet purely for casual sexual encounters. During one of these, McQuarry meets a blonde woman whom he becomes close to. When he's attacked and she disappears, he discovers more going on than he realized....

From the above plot description some people can figure out where the story is heading. I for one did. It's a sad fact that the script written by Mark Bomback holds no surprises at all. It also doesn't help that there are plot holes that aren't explained or dealt with. The direction by Marcel Langenegger is okay, but he doesn't add any tension into the movie.

What does save the movie are the three main performances. Michelle Williams is suitably enigmatic as the girl involved, Hugh Jackman as Wyatt Bose brings charm and charisma to the part, and Ewan McGregor as Jonathan McQuarry convinces as the straight, lonely accountant seduced into the events played out.

However the performances alone can't save the movie from being a disappointing, predictable thriller.