The Bone Collector

1999 "Right now, this serial killer could be looking at his next victim."
6.7| 1h58m| R| en| More Info
Released: 05 November 1999 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.

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Reviews

ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made
Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
andrewpeterfarrow Great story, that keeps you on edge all the way through, I'm sure it will inspire to read all the Deaver books. A must see!
Christopher Evans The director of this film (Noyce) likes to try to emulate the style of the great Alfred Hitchcock and in the stylish shooting and thriller themes he is again very much making that effort. Sadly though this film is totally unconvincing and preposterous in many ways so it falls very short.The story has Denzel Washington as Rhyme Lincoln, a paraplegic forensic expert whose injuries were sustained in his police work. He continues to advise forensic police and becomes actively involved in investigating a series of killings where the killer leaves clues deliberately. Angelina Jolie plays a young cop who deals well with a crime scene and is then roped in by Washington to be his eyes and ears at subsequent crime scenes.The whole plot is so incredibly hard to believe. The cliched cops pulling in different directions with some acting outside guidelines and others trying to wrestle control of the case away from Lincoln do not quite ring true as a realistic way a police investigation could be carried out but that is a tiny criticism compared to the more glaring issues:Why does Lincoln entrust, and even force, a young inexperienced cop to carry out forensic investigations of crime scenes alone? She did what he thought was the right thing in her initial treatment of a crime scene but that is not remotely convincing as a reason for Lincoln or commanding officers to let this untrained cop loose on crime scenes alone. Not only that but she proves time and time again to be totally inadequate for this role as she is extremely scared and disturbed by the crime scenes and does numerous things which are bizarrely not shown as problems but would, in reality, totally destroy all forensic evidence. She shoots a rat which would spatter rat remains all over the forensic scene, she handles objects before taking any forensic precautions, photos, prints etc. She is slow and reluctant at all times wasting precious time. She does not show any great insight at all until, predictably, discovering the killer is aiming to kill Lincoln. Something Lincoln in his wisdom, fails to spot. Lincoln even pressures her to saw off the hands of a recently killed victim to remove the handcuffs for evidence without ANY forensic treatment of the scene whatsoever. Nobody has photographed the scene, taken prints, searched for evidence in any way yet he wants her to saw through the victim, covering all the evidence with blood just to get the cuffs!! And she is totally unwilling to do it anyway as she is too squeamish. It is totally bizarre!In addition to all the crazily unconvincing police work we have to try to believe the killer is another former forensics guy motivated by revenge against Lincoln for 'ruining his career' and causing him to go to jail for previously mishandling evidence. I guessed thew guy was the killer as soon as I saw him so it was predictable but it is totally unconvincing that motivated by revenge on Lincoln he carries out an incredibly risky and convoluted series of murders going to exceptional trouble to kill innocent people in bizarre ways just so he can leave a trail of clues which, if Lincoln succeeded in unpicking, would stop him from getting his revenge at all!! Indeed Lincoln fails to spot the clues lead to him being the final victim and the killer makes an attempt on Lincoln's life so what was the point of all the murders and clues?!! It lead nowhere and, in fact, the killer had access to Lincoln numerous occasions in his fake role of helping Lincoln so he could have killed him at any time!! If there was a point to the killings, either leading to an otherwise unavailable opportunity to confront Lincoln or in some way disgracing Lincoln that would be good but there is absolutely no point to all the murders and clues at all. The killer just breaks in and attempts to kill Lincoln as he could have done at any point since his release from jail.Washington then manages to fight the killer off despite being a paraplegic which is hard to believe and Angelina Jolie arrives in the nick of time to rescue him in a predictable, cliched anticlimax. Finally, just to top it all off, Lincoln is then shown in a closing scene up and about in a wheelchair seeming inexplicably healthier, stronger and more independent. There is no mention of the seizures that have blighted his recent life or any explanation given for his incredible improvement in ability to be out of the bed he had been confined to. Then Jolie is revealed to be romantically involved with Lincoln in a final, insultingly cliched and unconvincing happy ending.The good things about the film were that it was well filmed visually, the acting of Washington was engaging and high quality as usual, other acting was not bad and there was brainless entertainment from it all if you just completely do not bother to think about any of it. As a result it would be unfair to rate this 1 or 2 out of 10 as there are worse films around but it cannot be higher than a 3 out of 10 really as it is just so badly thought through and unbelievable.
capone666 The Bone CollectorThe best keepsake to take from your murder victim is cash, credit cards or their car.But for some reason the stalker in this crime-thriller collects worthless bone shards. Beat cop Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) pairs with a paralyzed forensic expert, Rhyme (Denzel Washington), to find a serial killer who extracts bone fragment from their victims as a souvenir. The duo concludes the perpetrator is a cabbie with a criminal record and a connection to Rhyme's work in forensics. Unfortunately, Donaghy, Rhyme and his caretaker (Queen Latifah) don't realize just how close the Bone Collector is.While the mystery isn't as earthshattering as hoped, this first and only installment in author Jeffery Deaver's Rhyme series does feature inexplicable chemistry between the unlikely leads. In fact, this intriguing subplot supports the film's formulaic construction.Incidentally, the best way to prevent future serial killers is to execute every nice, quiet guy next door. Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca
Stephen Bird Intriguing and a film to keep you thinking, that would be a fine way to describe "The Bone Collector".Denzel Washington has immense presence even when he spends the whole film just lying in a bed..., the guy is a crack-shot crime scene investigator who is world renowned, but Lincoln Rhyme is reduced to a shell of his former self being a quadriplegic and unable to leave the confines of his bed, under the watchful eye of his nurse Thelma, played by Queen Latifah.Contemplating assisted suicide, suddenly Lincoln hears the news about a killing spree going down in town and has to change his plans, along with a brilliant performance by Angelina Jolie playing young rookie cop, Amelia Donaghy, the duo team up, Lincoln being the brains and Amelia being the eyes and the legs, to track down and take down the serial killer."The Bone Collector" is enjoyable but also very shocking, it keeps you guessing until the final act when the mystery becomes unravelled, it's not what you think unless you're a very clever person, and the killer and primary motive will probably surprise you.A superb supporting cast only added to the sickening splendour of a very stomach churning story, headed up by the ever reliable Luis Guzman, playing Eddie Ortiz, one of Lincolns loyal servants..., the whole cast had a specific role to add something to the story, and the overall acting was one of the film's strongest points. Quaintly claustrophobic, the film gives an overall impression of uncomfortable tight spaces, no more so than Lincoln's dwelling which can get cramped when his whole team pack the place out during the middle portion of the film. The whole film is made to make you feel uneasy and uncomfortable, something that a lot of other films in this bracket fail to do, but "The Bone Collector" is gritty, slimy and very unpleasant..., the cinematographer and the whole production team did a marvellous job of visually personifying the desired feeling and bringing it perfectly onto the screen.Almost top marks for a very fine film, I'd certainly watch it again.