Although the set up of "The Skulls" is relatively formulated, the movie takes some pretty good departures from the norm of thriller movies.
That's not to say the movie is completely unpredictable. On the contrary, there are a lot of punches (both literally and figuratively) the viewer sees coming. However, "The Skulls" follows a different method than most thrillers of building and easing tension relying less on cloak-and-dagger scenes and more on situational problems that characters have to solve.
Joshua Jackson plays an ivy league college student who gains entry to a secret society that includes senators and judges. Although thrust into a world of wealth and power, he begins to question his loyalty to the Skulls following the mysterious death of his friend who was investigating the secret society.
Although the premise has been used before ("The Firm"), this movie has plenty of original content. In fact, this movie's best quality is that it doesn't have a lot of the plot twists that are standard in thriller movies. For example, the viewer truly does not know who to trust throughout the movie (although some of the untrustworthy characters are pretty apparent).
The most unfortunate aspect of the movie is the climax. Instead of being unpredictable, the ending is just ridiculous. Although it resolves the conflicts in the movie, it strongly tests the viewer's ability to put up with the believability of the secret society.
From an acting standpoint, "The Skulls" delivers neither remarkable nor damaging performances. Everyone plays their part well, but no one really stands out.
What does stand out, although many viewers will not notice it, is a unique camera use throughout the film. This movie is beautifully lit, with soft glows gracing the set and characters. However, in a thriller like this, such lighting effects might be out of place.
"The Skulls" is not a tremendous movie, but does what it sets out to do make the viewer tense and eager to see what happens to the movie's characters.
That's not to say the movie is completely unpredictable. On the contrary, there are a lot of punches (both literally and figuratively) the viewer sees coming. However, "The Skulls" follows a different method than most thrillers of building and easing tension relying less on cloak-and-dagger scenes and more on situational problems that characters have to solve.
Joshua Jackson plays an ivy league college student who gains entry to a secret society that includes senators and judges. Although thrust into a world of wealth and power, he begins to question his loyalty to the Skulls following the mysterious death of his friend who was investigating the secret society.
Although the premise has been used before ("The Firm"), this movie has plenty of original content. In fact, this movie's best quality is that it doesn't have a lot of the plot twists that are standard in thriller movies. For example, the viewer truly does not know who to trust throughout the movie (although some of the untrustworthy characters are pretty apparent).
The most unfortunate aspect of the movie is the climax. Instead of being unpredictable, the ending is just ridiculous. Although it resolves the conflicts in the movie, it strongly tests the viewer's ability to put up with the believability of the secret society.
From an acting standpoint, "The Skulls" delivers neither remarkable nor damaging performances. Everyone plays their part well, but no one really stands out.
What does stand out, although many viewers will not notice it, is a unique camera use throughout the film. This movie is beautifully lit, with soft glows gracing the set and characters. However, in a thriller like this, such lighting effects might be out of place.
"The Skulls" is not a tremendous movie, but does what it sets out to do make the viewer tense and eager to see what happens to the movie's characters.