Got better in the second half

Rating: 5/10 (5 August 2007)

Walter Sparrow (Carrey) reads a book his wife, Agatha (Madsen), finds in a used book store and realizes that the main character and he have a lot in common and this scares him. The title of the book is The Number 23. Hmmmm
The first half of this movie has you reaching for the DVD remote and the STOP button. Oh, the acting is fine, it was that the story dragged too much. We got the idea pretty quick but the director thought we needed more time with Walter reading the book and conjuring up the episodes within. Those episodes were too dark for anyone to follow and no one knew what was going on anyway. The sex scenes in the beginning and also at the end of the movie really didn't do much to advance the story. A couple cuddling scenes would have made the point.
Now, the second half was good, could have been thriller like, but it still lacked the suspense and tension it should have had. Walter is chasing clues regarding the number 23 throughout history and trying to make sense of it all in regards to his inner thoughts that so closely follow the main character's in the story.
All in all a good production in the second half of the movie and Jim Carrey is good in dramatic roles (Hey, Will Ferrell, are you listening?). The rest of the cast performed well too.
Now, just what is the relevance/obsession between Walter and the number 23? Well, okay, you will learn this early in the movie anyway. He was born on 3 February.
Violence:Yes, Sex: Yes, and unnecessary too, Nudity: Yes, Disturbing Images:Many, Language: Yes, some