When watching this rather familiar-looking crime thriller, don't be sidetracked by the sensational sexual serial killing and gory stuff (from same gory school as "I know who killed me" (2007), if you've seen that one). There are two main themes, familiar again, but watchable. First, there is the world-weary law enforcing officer (think Willis) in his last fling, persevering in a case even when already relieved of duty and authority. And then there is also the mentor-protégée yarn best exemplified by the Washington/Jolie duo in "The bone collector" (1999). If the Richard Gere and Claire Danes combination has not pulled this one off with flying colour, at least they have not bungled it up.
True, Gere is not exactly the best choice for a hard-nosed cop but as his character explains in the movie, this is not a regular cop. He is Agent Erroll Babbage in the "Department of Public Safety" whose job is to go around, not unlike a parole officer, checking up on his "flock" of "registered" sex offenders. The seriousness with which he takes his job verges on obsession. From careful study of application letters, he hand-picked a successor who starts about 3 weeks before his retirement as an understudy as he tries to teach her everything he learned in his career. A little far-fetched, but let's not debate the point.
Claire Dane is said successor Alison Laurie. As it happens, a perverted sex killer is on the loose and a 17-year-old girl is missing. A couple of characters on Babbage's "flock" list become suspects. The story evolves around the pair working on the case, under plots and twists that are run-of-the-mill and mostly predictable. The rest is bells and whistles.
As said, Gere is not the best choice for the role but he did put in a respectable effort, trying to give some depth to the inner devil of this hero. It's good to see Danes in a tough action role as it has been a few years since "Terminator 3" although I would ultimately prefer her more feminine roles as in "Evening" and "Star dust", her other two movies this year.
True, Gere is not exactly the best choice for a hard-nosed cop but as his character explains in the movie, this is not a regular cop. He is Agent Erroll Babbage in the "Department of Public Safety" whose job is to go around, not unlike a parole officer, checking up on his "flock" of "registered" sex offenders. The seriousness with which he takes his job verges on obsession. From careful study of application letters, he hand-picked a successor who starts about 3 weeks before his retirement as an understudy as he tries to teach her everything he learned in his career. A little far-fetched, but let's not debate the point.
Claire Dane is said successor Alison Laurie. As it happens, a perverted sex killer is on the loose and a 17-year-old girl is missing. A couple of characters on Babbage's "flock" list become suspects. The story evolves around the pair working on the case, under plots and twists that are run-of-the-mill and mostly predictable. The rest is bells and whistles.
As said, Gere is not the best choice for the role but he did put in a respectable effort, trying to give some depth to the inner devil of this hero. It's good to see Danes in a tough action role as it has been a few years since "Terminator 3" although I would ultimately prefer her more feminine roles as in "Evening" and "Star dust", her other two movies this year.