Serial killer movies have become so much a part of our cinematic consciousness that it is impossible to do anything new with them. "The Watcher" is one of the most artsy-fartsy, sophomoric, and silly ones yet. It begins seeming to have a chance at going into new territory but eventually gets bogged down by every cliche in the book.

The film tries to inject some sort of psychological interest into the standard plot by having the serial killer and the FBI agent on his case both realize that they "need each other" to give their life meaning. It toys with this idea quite effectively, but the payoff of this theme is never fully realized. The film peters out like a blue collar worker with a 6-pack in him; It just settles down in its easy chair and nods off. The end of this film is one of the lamest, most lackluster and boring endings to a cop/killer film I've ever scene. It practically had me begging for one of those old school endings where the killer just keeps coming back and back and back and back. Alas, that does not happen here.

Opting for the novel approach of having Keanu Reeves as a serial killer, the film is hopeless from the start. For some unfathomable reason, the writer and director here decide to have the killer do a little dance before he kills his victims. Keanu's moves will bring back every cornball stand- up comedian act you've ever heard about how white guys can't dance. The film becomes an unknowing comedy during these scenes.

And Keanu just looks old. We never have any emotion for him because we never "buy" him as a killer (he's always Keanu) and we never want to like him either because, of course, he's a killer. But mainly, we could really care less. The film continually shows us what his character is doing, so there is no sense of mystery or tension. We are merely voyeurs into a really contrived plot, nothing more.

For what it's worth, James Spader and Marisa Tomei are actually able to almost make some of this film watchable. Spader works wonders as a FBI agent with a past who suffers from migraines and insomnia. It's nice to see the guy actually get a chance to perform in a Hollywood film. But the script and direction is so cruel to him that he ultimately fails, of course. At one point, during a chase scene, Spader actually jumps into a police car just sitting around and starts it up and chases Keanu. It makes absolutely no sense. It's not Spader's car. What cop would leave his patrol vehicle unattended with the keys in it? And then the car chase that ensues is rather drab as well so we never forget this silly plot contrivance.

Director Joe Charbanic, who makes his debut here, uses numerous stylized images, combining film and video by using boring MTV-on-Prozac editing to make the film sloppy, slapdash and generally the work of a newbie. The film looks as if it were directed by someone fresh out of film school. It surprising that the powers-that-be (Universal) allowed such freedom to be "weird" in such a mainstream film. Still, it doesn't work. It never serves to emphasize the themes and ideas of the film nor does it make it "creepy" or "tense."

"The Watcher" often approaches a good film, especially at it's start. Spader and Tomei have a nice chemistry. The script, occasionally, reaches for something we haven't seen before. The whole film is set up to succeed in the first couple of reels. But the style soon begins to grate, the plot and story soon gets sloppy and the ending of the film drops to the ground with a thud. This, it turns out, is nothing more than a rather humdrum and typical serial killer flick. Keanu should have taken a pass.

Note:

Also with Ernie Hudson (who is given zero to do other than be the token black cop).

At one time the film was known as "Driven." Originally, Keanu was considered for Spader's part. He took the film for scale when allowed to play against type.

Filmed on location in Chicago.

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