Waste of two hours and a sawbuck

Rating: 2/10 (25 December 2006)

When I saw the previews for this movie, I was excited to see it, I have to say. I love noir, love cop movies, love Bruce Willis. The flick itself was entirely disappointing. I've never been so close to walking out of a theater mid-show in my life. I think the main problem is the self- conscious writing. The whole movie is just so in love with itself. I don't mind a little banter or a clever jab here and there, but when a script starts to evoke a bad Gilmore Girls episode, you have to question its quality. Lucy Liu and Josh Hartnett were dreadfully annoying together, especially in the "which James Bond am I?" scene. The twist was also predictable. While I admit it was different, the whole movie seemed to build around an invisible tower of a twist from the very beginning. That structure combined with the fact that the kid in the beginning looks a lot like Josh Hartnett really pointed to the outcome. I guess Josh and Bruce kicking butt was entertaining for around ten minutes, but the rest was torture. This movie is not as smart as it pretends to be, and the stench of effort throughout is unbearable. I know a lot of you will disagree, based on the inordinately high rating you've given this movie, and all I can say is that I am baffled.