Shattered

Wolfgang Petersen (Poseidon & the Neverending Story)'s Neo Noir starring Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, and Greta Scacchi about a West Coast developer who has amnesia after a car accident and begins to suspect his wife of treachery.

This begins in a pretty mundane way. It runs like any one of thousands of films of the early 1990's, and there doesn't appear to be anything special about it until you get a little bit of the way into it. Roughly one third through, you begin to see the subtle idiosyncrasies of this work, and soon, you are wholly absorbed.

This features some great intrigues, a nice well paced plot, and a really twisty ending. Dialog delivery isn't as bad as you might expect, and the story itself steals the show. Camera angles are a bit odd at times, but nothing like some of those 1970's flicks!

All in all, though it was done as recently as 1991, it is horribly dated but I was still completely entertained by this film, and while it's not Friday-Saturday night quality, it makes for a great Saturday or Sunday afternoon diversion.

It rates a 7.6/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Pretty clever mystery that will leave you gasping when the shocking twist is revealed. Tightly woven together, Wolfgang Peterson delivers a smart story about Dan Merrick, a San Francisco businessman who can't remember his past after surviving a horrific car crash. While recovering at his lovely secluded home, Dan discovers his adoring wife Judith, played by Greta Scacchi, is cheating with another man. Dan sets forth to discover that all is not what is seems to be. Bob Hoskins as Gus, the pet shop owner / part time private eye, gives a wonderful performance as well as Joanne Whalley, who knows much more than she ever wanted to know about Dan. Slick scoring by Alan Silvestri, knock out sets, and direction make this mystery / thriller a winner!

A suspenseful movie about a horrible car accident in which a couple : Tom Berenguer, Greta Scacchi are seriously wounded. The husband : Tom Berenger is totally disfigured and is undergone a risked operation to remake his face. Once he's healed he suffers amnesia and doesn't remember his past, exception for brief visons of strange incidents from his previous existence. That's why he hires a Private Inspector : Bob Hoskins to find out causes of the car crash, resulting in a surprising conclusion.

Exciting thrller with suspense, intrigue, twists and turns. It is an Hitchockian thriller with several plot twists, red herrings and predictable final. We're extremely interested in the twisted events and the main question is to solve what really happened at the fateful day of the terrible accident and about a surprising killing. Main starring Tom Berenguer and Greta Scacchi give acceptable interpretations, furthermore they perform some strong and hot love scenes . They are well accompanied by a good support cast such as Joanna Whalley Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen, Theodore Bikel, Bob Hoskins, among others.

It displays an attractive and thrilling musical score by Alan Silvestri. As well as adequate and atmospheric cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs. The motion picture was well directed by Wolfgang Petersen. This good director from his first big success, : Das Boot has made several blockbusters and big hits such as The Neverending story, Enemy mine, Open Fire, Outbreak, Air Force One, Troy, though Poseidon was a real flop. Rating : 6.5/10 .The flick will appeal to Tom Berenguer fans.

The feel of this film rings of a late 1970's early 1980's action-drama TV show, like "Hart to Hart", "Charlie's Angels", or even "Dallas", particularly because of the location shots and the music. The scenes alternate between million-dollar mansions, ritzy hotels, billion-dollar corporations, and rural locales. And the lush strings always emerge when the characters are driving through some mountainous areas. I kept thinking that Jaclyn Smith would turn up at any moment.

The opening premise is quite a stretch: Tom Berenger as Dan Merrick survives after having plunged about 6000 feet off the road in his car. It's a miracle that his legs didn't end up in the glove compartment. Despite being more or less still intact, Merrick's face has been crushed into hamburger, and he can't remember who he is or what happened to him after he awakens from a coma. His wife Judith (Greta Scacchi) is only a little scratched up after the ordeal. She nurses him back to health and tries to help put the puzzle pieces back into his "shattered" memory.

He finds out he's a rich commercial real estate developer with a house with its own zip code. His office at the TransAmerica building in San Francisco is bigger than the average person's apartment. And he has a beautiful secretary who must have just finished a stint as a cover model for Vogue. And his colleague is the kind of guy who uses the old "two shooter" gesture while saying "We'll do lunch." That would be a nightmare!

But other pieces do not come together so easily, like why, before the accident, did he hire a private investigator (Bob Hoskins) who fronts as a pet store owner? And why did this guy's invoice end up at the development company? At one point, he thought he had bought $7000 worth of pets! (With that kind of money he could have gotten the equivalent of Magnum PI.)

The film becomes a kind of noir mystery in which Merrick tries to put the pieces of his life back into perspective all the while trying to figure who he can trust. Although some of the writing and circumstances were a little hard to swallow, the movie sort of gets better as it goes along. And a great performance by Berenger holds the story together more or less. At every moment, despite its short-comings, you want to find out what happens next. And a dynamite ending that is worth the wait and the price of admission, $5 for the DVD at Fry's.

With a maze of plot twists and surprises, "Shattered" is one heck of a guesser.

The plot follows Dan Merrick (Tom Berenger) after a horrifying car accident. He suffers from amnesia, and must piece his life together post-accident. As he learns more and more about his past, his life spins out of control, leaving the most horrifying revelation for the end.

"Shattered" is carefully constructed and directed by Wolfgang Peterson. His cast really brings this one together, with great performances by Berenger and Bob Hoskins. It is simply impossible to guess the events in this film as you are watching it, and it is best to go into it knowing as little as possible.

"Shattered" is an excellent effort and film that has been wrongly ignored over the years since its release. This is a great rental for a cold and rainy Saturday night.

Grade: A