Good but not captivating

Rating: 7/10 (1 May 2002)

Insomnia is director Christopher Nolan's follow up to Memento. It's not as good as his previous film but it's not bad. The film begins with Al Pacino's character, a cop from L.A., going to Alaska to investigate a murder. He arrives with another cop from Los Angeles. The film immediately spins into a routine serial killer movie with Al Pacino discovering info that the Alaskan cops had no knowledge of. The first 30 minutes of the movie are really, really boring. Suddenly, Robin Williams shows up and the movie takes off. Williams is perfect in this role and surprisingly he's completely serious. Once Williams comes on the screen, the film becomes more than just a normal serial killer movie with a few minor twists and some good original ideas. Hillary Swank plays one of the Alaskan cops and she's just plain out of place in this movie. It's not that she does a bad acting job but she just doesn't fit. As for Christopher Nolan, he does a decent but not award worthy job in the director's chair. With some wild editing, this film does bear some resemblance to Memento but not much. This film is much less confusing and also not as stylish. Overall, it's a good serial killer movie.