Ridiculously overrated

Rating: 4/10 (23 August 2010)

This is yet another one of those movies. You hear about it, everyone seems to be raving about it, the reviews are all positive, you wait and wait for a chance to see it. The time finally rolls around, you settle in for what you think will be a fantastic film, you watch it and by the time it's done you wind up wishing you could get the last two hours of your life back.
The biggest problem with the movie is that it's so slow, you could watch paint dry and find it more thrilling. The acting overall is decent, but the story is disjointed and at times you forget what's actually going on in the movie because it keeps switching back to one of the dumbest sub plots I've ever seen.
Parts of the movies plot that are supposed to connect with each other never really seem to and the parts that do connect well don't really seem to add up. Then there's the character of Lisabeth, who is the focus of the movies sub plot and ties in...or rather is supposed to tie in to the main plot line later in the film. The character is so over done, you might think you were watching an Anime cartoon instead of a live action movie. Mainly, it's her wardrobe that causes that and if they had simply dressed her normally, Lisabeth would be a far believable. There are other issues with her, but her wardrobe is just so ludicrous for most of the movie that it sticks out like a sore thumb. There's also the issue of the scenes involving her probation officer, which I had heard were horrid and hard to watch. All I can say is, nothing to see here...move along. Yes she gets raped and yes she returns the favor but both scenes are done so poorly it's hard to find either really offensive or shocking. How you have a teenage girl get raped and then rape her attacker, yet manage to show less violence then a 90210 episode, I will never understand. Aside from that, is shock value all the producers were after here?
Between the assault in the subway tunnel, the office sex scene, the rape, the revenge rape and so on, the film makers seem to have forgotten they were supposed to be making a thriller. I won't give away the ending, but I will say this. It's not much of a shock and it wasn't worth sitting through this movie to see it. From beginning to end you feel like you waiting for something that just never happens. The pace is terrible, the thrilling moments are a yawn and the entire movie feels like something from the nineteen nineties. All of the characters are cliché and the storyline is rife with plot holes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go wash my Blu Ray player out with soap.