Not Even Samuel L. Jackson Can Save This One

Rating: Null/10 (27 November 2000)

Try to imagine a superhero movie without any action. It tries to be a "thoughtful" examination of the whole concept of good vs. evil, but what it ends up being is slow, ponderous, and gloomy. What writer M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) doesn't realize is that, in the superhero genre, you need a lot of whiz-bang so you DON'T start thinking,else you begin to realize just how absurd the whole idea is.
Perhaps the greatest mistake this movie makes is that it mutes the lead actors' greatest gifts: Samuel L. Jackson's furious intensity and Bruce Willis' wit. Willis mopes around for the better part of the film, trying to deny his "gift", while Jackson (who ought to sue the costume designer for dressing him like a 70's pimp), intones platitudes about comic books.
This one is a candidate for some future version of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", because the only joy in it comes from making snarky comments to your seatmates in order to relieve the oppressive over-seriousness and the sheer tedium. There's a neat surprise ending where Jackson finally comes alive, but by that time, it's just too little, too late.