I can't remember when I last saw movie that has stayed with me weeks after seeing it. Talk about an audience participation experience, I kid you not, there were actually numerous times when the entire audience, a packed house would all gasp or jump in unison as the horrors of film unfolded. I can't remember when the last time that happened to me, can you? The story in a nutshell is about this small time thug, Truman, who is being hunted by this psychotic, Keyser Söze type hit-man, known as Rains. Imagine what kind of world it would be if Frank Miller's Batman was a serial killer and he was coming after you and you get an idea of how lethal and terrifying this bad guy is. Rains wants to shape and mold Truman into his likeness so to carrying on his life's work - judging and punishing those who he deems deserve it. He believes that he and his natural born killer prodigy, have a responsibility to help give purpose and clarity for the sufferings included in God's master plan
Yeah I know, it sounds insane as hell, your right it is, and I loved every minute of it. As far as the acting, yes I agree with everyone else here, it was dead on. My favorites were the lead guy Truman, and his mentor King. You've got to hand it to the filmmakers for having the courage to go with an unknown cast over your regular handful of straight to video talent. That choice accomplished two things, first I had no idea who the killer was, second it really gave me the impression that all bets were off, that no one was safe. This in turn had the great residual effect, and one so lacking of most thrillers, of making it impossible for me to have a clue as to how this film was going to end. Second it really elevated the film out of the B-movie label it would have so easily been tagged with and into something quite unusual. As far as the shoot outs and fight scenes go, thought they rocked, absolutely super brutal. Every character in this movie is scarred out of there minds and rightfully so. You really get the vibe that at anytime, anyone is heartbeat away from eating a bullet. What a welcome change of pace from all the "wire work", slow motion hero shots and "bullet time" f/x that everyone has been ripping since The Matrix. I left the theater feeling like I'd taken a beating. This was the coolest, slickest, gut-wrenching journey into hell I've seen in ages. You've got to see it.