The movie attempts to be a cat and mouse chase that stars Jamie Foxx as the assistant district attorney and Gerald Butler as the psychotic killer. In terms of entertainment the movie exceeded my expectations. But my expectations were set quite low.

The movie tries to push a moral message by stating that prosecutors should not make deals with criminals. It is hard to take the message seriously as the movie itself lacks logic and rationality. The premise of the movie is based on Butler’s wife and child being killed during a robbery. Although Butler witnesses himself and his wife being stabbed, the DA believes that there is a lack of sufficient evidence. The rest of the movie follows a similar direction and rationality that in the end feels rushed and forced. This also includes a poor ending to the movie.

It is evident that Gerald Butler’s character is inspired by the likes of Hannibal Lecter and more recently the Joker. But Butler’s character fails to reach the high standards set by these Hollywood psychotics due to two main reasons. First of all, the movie starts by portraying the character as emotional and helpless. As the movie progresses, it is learnt that the character is a former spy and an expert at killing people from a distance. The personality of the character at the start and the end of the movie fail to be consistent and is a symptom of a weak script. Secondly the character conducts his kills while in prison so most of the kills are done remotely and at the same time are a bit too over the top to feel realistic. The kills feel detached from the killer.  

Fortunately the movie succeeds in making Gerald Butler’s character a real bad ass. In addition it is complemented with some great jaw dropping scenes. The movie can be quite entertaining as long as one leaves their logic behind.

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gerald Butler

Directed By: F. Gary Gray