Cliché

Rating: 5/10 (30 December 2009)

So there are two good things about this film and I will start with them. First, it creates a good atmosphere and causes the viewer emotions of sympathy for the "good guys" and fear and anger for the "bad guy". Second, it contains a clever twist that could not be foreseen, although some guesses will come close. Then, there's the bad things. This film is full of every cliché in the book. Every character you have ever seen in a similar film in the past is present. The one person who suspects the truth but whose skeletons in the closet make them non-credible. The person who is completely ignorant to the truth and thinks the other is crazy. The one who knows the truth but is swayed into not telling anything. And the one who decides to expose the truth and pays for it. And the villain who is evil for the sake of being evil and does evil things because they are so very evil. If one removes the sentiment of deja-vu that this film casts on its viewers, what is left is a film that maintains a certain degree of interest but has nothing to offer that has not been done before and better. Granted, the acting is credible, the cinematography is good and the ending is satisfying. However, there are just so many clichés in this film that half-way through, any experienced viewer of the genre will have figured the rest of the film out, with the exception of the one clever twist.