Like opening a lavishly wrapped present and discovering that the wrapping is all there is... (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)

Rating: 1/10 (21 February 2001)

I was really looking forward to this film given that it was Fincher's follow-up to the superb "Se7en" and that the cast contained Sean Penn. For me, Fincher is the most exciting director working in Hollywood today and has rarely put a foot wrong either in his technique or his script choices. Sean Penn is a maverick whose colourful life off screen adds barely needed interest value to some eclectic films and performances.
A message to these two crew members: "Sean, I can't really blame you for the debacle that is the end result of this film, I just wish you'd expunge it from your CV. David, what were you doing? Unless it was the studio's decision to foist off that pathetic ending on the audience, you made a serious error of judgement; so far the only one in your otherwise brilliant career, but an error nonetheless. Here's hoping that "The Panic Room" will once more fully showcase the brilliance I've come to expect from yourself..."
Usually, a film has to have several bad points before I will stoop to awarding a '1' rating on IMDb, but this is one film where the ending is so inconceivably awful as to negate everything good that has gone before. Fincher does a neat line in edgy suspense and for most of the film this is showcased brilliantly. However, as I remember, this is quite a long film and towards the end my patience was stretched by the seeming lack of an impending payoff. I started to idly wonder about the possible climax, with each new thought being more innovative and thrilling than the last. Then the movie delivers, and it's such a letdown. I was expecting Fincher to keep with the 'dark' themes he has exploited so well in all his other movies, but instead of a visceral sucker punch we get the movie being far too literal. As such, any second viewing would most likely be pointless, since then you'll know that all the posturing of the slow-burn build up leads to something completely empty. Not that I was planning to sit through a well-done first half again to get to its shallow conclusion. Once was enough. The single biggest cinematic disappointment of my life. Not even "Showgirls" received a lower rating than this from me. Now that's scary... !