Il collezionista di ossa

The Bone Collector is a serial killer thriller in the vein of Seven. Here the gruesome deaths are hinted at rather than shown in a gory visceral manner.

Denzel Washington is Lincoln Rhyme, a paraplegic detective now bedridden who needs round the clock care after an accident. Rhyme was a brilliant forensic detective who wrote several books on the subject.

Now his superiors want his help as a maniac pretending to be a cab driver, is abducting victims, torturing and killing them yet leaving clues behind for Rhyme to solve. He is assisted by a rookie cop, Amelia (Angelina Jolie) who acts as his physical being as she goes does the leg work and goes out out to the subterranean dark lairs where the victims have been held.

As the film progresses it almost seems like a chess game is being played with Rhyme, the clues are aimed at Rhyme somehow as if the killer is taunting Rhyme, like they might have dealt with each other in the past.

Director Phillip Noyce uses the film such as Sea of Love as a template for misdirection. It even has Michael Rooker playing a police chief, he played the villain in Sea of Love, initially appearing in a small scene.

However the ending was rather cheesy with some campy lines and the motive of the killer felt like a bolt from the blue. Still it is an entertaining thriller but not up to the standards of Seven, Sea of Love or The Silence of the Lambs.

A bed ridden, paraplegic NYC detective, Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington), teams up with a rookie cop named Amelia (Angelina Jolie) to try and catch a serial killer, in this dark, moody atmospheric thriller from Director Phillip Noyce. This is a fine thriller.

From the get-go viewers understand that an intelligent maniac is on the loose, and could strike at any time. That is the very definition of cinematic tension. In addition, the killer uses dark, subterranean spaces to torture and kill victims. That inky darkness, together with a haunting musical score further amplifies suspense.

But, the solution to the whodunit puzzle is ultimately unsatisfying because the screenwriter withholds important back-story from viewers. This could have been so easily fixed with the addition of a line or two of dialogue and/or a brief added scene near the film's beginning. Even so, good plot misdirection creates ample red herrings, so that the killer's identity is not a foregone conclusion.

The film's cinematography, production design, and editing are fine. Washington does a good job as the paralyzed cop. But Angelina Jolie is miscast; she pouts her way through the film looking like she's bored out of her mind. The support cast helps a lot, with highly credible performances from delightful Queen Latifah, capable Ed O'Neill, and reliable Michael Rooker.

The crime scenes tended unfortunately to be in-your-face grizzly. But at least the gore quotient was minimal.

For dark, moody serial killer films set in NYC, I prefer "Sea Of Love" (1989). Nevertheless, "The Bone Collector" can be enjoyed for its elevated level of suspense, its fine cinematography, and its generally high level of acting. Be advised, however, that the film's finale may be a disappointment if you expect all the whodunit puzzle pieces to fall into place, neat and tidy.

When NYPD cop Amelia Donaghy uncovers a mutilated corpse she shows a natural eye for detail and preserving crime scenes. When the killer turns out to be a serial killer leaving clues to his next crime, NYPD turn to the paralysed ex-forensics cop, Rhyme to help them piece together the clues. With Rhymes bedridden, Donaghy becomes his eyes, ears and legs as she walks the scenes under his guidance to uncover the trail.

This is a star vehicle - two Oscar winners and some good supporting actors (Luis Guzman, Michael Rooker to name two). However the plot is below the Washington and Jolie. It is the old "killer taunting cops to catch him" chestnut. It is slightly spiced up by the use of forensics etc and watching Washington putting together the logical clues is quite fun - mainly because you get the feeling that you're right there with him and that it all makes sense. However most of it doesn't makes sense, a lot of the forensics is bull and relies of coincidence or Washington dragging facts from the back of his head. This is a shame because it feels like the film is just being lazy at times and is cheating us out of logic. This laziness feeds right through to the ending - if you thought that the Scream films were lazy and stupid wait till you see the stupid ending to this! Up till this the film does have plenty of horrible scenes and lots of tense bits with Jolie walking round in the dark with the killer potentially just round the corner.

Jolie is good and deals with her character well - despite the fact that a beat cop would never just be able to become a crime scene officer on the whim of an ex-cop. Washington deals well with his character being paralysed for the whole film but does get a bit silly at the end where he fights the killer with just his head! Support is fine - but Guzman is not as good as he usually is.

Overall this is a B movie that got an A movie budget. The film is dark and tense but ultimately a bit lazy and blows it totally with a stupid lazy conclusion.

Denzel Washington plays a former cop who is injured in the line of duty and becomes a crime scene investigator and expert witness in the service of law firms. Angelina Jolie plays a cop who is struggling to find a place within a male-dominated police culture, and shows a talent for crime scene investigation, which Denzel's character immediately recognizes and appreciates, since he is bedridden and physically unable to go to most crime scenes. She is reluctant to get involved, but does wind up grudgingly serving as his eyes and ears as they try to follow clues left by a serial killer who gives clues about his next victims and taunts them and the police.

While Denzel's character is almost too brilliant to be believable, if you can overlook that you should thoroughly enjoy this movie. Denzel and Angelina, together with cops of varying competence, try to follow the clues given to them by the serial killer, who gives them clues before the killing actually occurs.

Most people who enjoy a dark, suspenseful movie (such as Silence of the Lambs) should thoroughly enjoy this movie.

I loved this movie when it 1st came out re watching it wasnt as good as i remember it but its still a lil better then your avg crime thriller! The killer makes for a good villain i will say it was not a waste of time re watching this movie just not what i remember.