Pi for dummies.

Rating: 5/10 (25 February 2007)

First off, am still in disbelief at the critical reception that The Number 23 has gotten. I did manage to enjoy it. It was clearly not the most intelligent of thrillers, but at its worst, it was a well executed, but horrendously written film.
23 kept me guessing through most of the film. I thought it was well photographed, and loved how the filmmakers alternated to a kind of film-noir style for the story within the book. On the other hand, some of the real world scenes looked stale and empty. It also had a serious believability issue. You need to really be able to suspend disbelief and avoid asking questions during this movie. The only really solid aspect of the 23's plot is the stunning detail they went into with the 23 enigma. The 23 enigma is a phenomenon that has been studied by mathemeticians, and the number has some positively strange literary passages, historical events and properties attached to it, but it is not enough to build a film on. Once you get past the number, you realize just how bland the characters and plot really are.
The cast did a good job with the film, with most of them playing dual roles, one in the real world and one in the world depicted by the book. I love it when people like Jim Carrey decide to take serious roles. He is a solid actor, and needs to balance out the dumb comedy.
Overall, it seemed like 23 was trying very hard to be Pi, and in most places it failed miserably. The filmmakers tried to lure you away from the static characters and lame plot by focusing on the 23 enigma, wheras Pi did the opposite. It put the numbers in the background and exposed its protagonist's slow descent into madness and chaos brilliantly. 23 mascarades as a good film with depth and a plot, but upon closer examination, has very little beneath its shiny and appealing surface.