The Number 23: Jim Carrey pulls it off!

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2008)

Who would have believed that the rubber-faced Jim Carrey would be able to carry a thriller for its entire length and do it brilliantly? Well, that's what he does in The Number 23. He stars as Walter Sparrow, a dog-catcher who is given a book by his wife for his birthday. As he reads the book more and more, he starts noticing similarities between him and the main character and slowly begins an obsession with the number 23.
If you were to tell someone 10 years ago that Jim Carrey would play the lead character in a serious thriller, they probably would have laughed in your face. After starring in Liar Liar, Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber, it's hard to imagine that he would be able to pull off this kind of film, but he does, although Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind had all ready established him as a serious actor.
The Number 23 is a very thrilling movie and will have you on the edge of your seat throughout. With twists and turns around every corner, it certainly had me guessing right until the very end.
This may sound strange, but The Number 23 actually put a curse on me for a few weeks after my first viewing of it and I'm sure it did for many, many others. What I mean by this is that whenever I saw a bunch of numbers, I would add them up to see if I could make 23 and if I could, I was completely freaked out by it. Also, I was seeing the number 23 everywhere I looked, although it wore off after a while.
One thing that I think The Number 23 needs more of is humour. The problem with it is that it takes itself too seriously and I would have thought that with Jim Carrey in hand, it wouldn't have had this problem.
Anyway, The Number 23 is still a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat movie. I give it 8/10.