Very well done and engrossing

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2002)

MINOR SPOILERS: I went into this movie expecting a lot, luckily I got back what I wanted. Nolan did absolutely fabulous on Memento and his indie film Following. So I was excited to see him tackle a big budget movie. This was pretty much an Al Pacino movie the whole way through. I've never seen a more haggard looking Pacino. He definitely seems like a cop who's lost his way and is just trudging through life. Hilary Swank was very good as the young Alaskan cop. I'm glad she didn't try to play the role too gung ho, but still had a strong female lead. And Robin Williams surprised me playing the murderer trying to find his wild card.
The film was beautiful. Some of the arial scenes over the Alaskan environment had me ooing and ahing. At points I was expecting Lovecraft's Mountains Of Madness (set in Antartica) to begin. The scene with the logs in the river had me holding my breath right along with Pacino.
Very well done, perfect resolution at the end, don't miss.