Could have been great, but is cliched all to hell and riddle with more holes than an Iraqi house.

Rating: 5/10 (4 February 2004)

I tried to watch this movie without any expectations, and it has two good actors in it, so I figured it might lead to something original. hmmm. It has an interesting enough concept, and midway through it really showed some promise after a certain something was revealed. However, anything in the film is soon tarnished by a laughably predictable Hollywood ending that most might not see coming because they won't think they'd even take it that far. I joked about how the movie would end while watching it, but was surprised I was right when it came. Should have known better. The plot twist itself, prior to the ending, could have made a decent movie and I'm sure the director thought he was making an intelligent film. But the way I see it, the twist makes it all too convenient for the plot holes and inconsistencies to exist without explanation anywhere in the story.
Ray Liotta and John Cusack pull off some good performances, but no acting performance could make up for the story. For example, put Keanu Reeves in the Matrix and it still sucks. Wait, he's not an actor. Liotta should stick to crime drama and Cusack should stick with those quirky movies we all love to see him in.
I can see why some people may be fooled into believing this is a good movie. A good movie is one that can be watched time and time again. ANY movie can keep you interested until the end, but that doesn't necessarily make it good. All you've got to do is confuse the audience all to hell so that there's no way they can tell what's going on until the end......but in this case, it kept me interested with many intentional distractions only to be let down. The movie lost several points just for the cop out ending alone.
I am genuinely fascinated by this film's favorable rating. I'm feeling generous today. 5/10