Ever wonder why movies try to be so original and fresh and new that it eventually gets bogged down by the amount of clichéd and predictable scenes and plot workings that overpopulate the screen?
If so, "Untraceable" is yet another entry into that peculiar investigation.
Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) is a widowed FBI agent working the night shift in the bureau's cybercrimes division with her lovelorn partner Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks).
A mysterious website pops up online-killwithme.com-and appears to be an outlet for those of the "Saw" generation: the more hits that come, the faster the kidnapped victim dies.
With each new victim comes new ways of murder. One victim is burned to death by heating lamps. Another is soaked in what starts as water and becomes battery acid.
Like so many of these movies, the perpetrator eventually comes after Jennifer and her young daughter (Perla Haney-Jardine).
"Untraceable" is nothing more than a film that goes through the motions of a suspenseful, find-them-before-they die formula movie. The exception is that the suspense is all but absent for the majority of the film, save for some tense moments during the final 15 minutes or so. It's "Saw" meets "The Silence of the Lambs," combined into the worst "Law & Order" episode ever.
Plus, this film tries to do something ingenious to the torture porn-meets crime drama genre: reveal the bad guy early. Note to filmmakers: never reveal the perp too early. Granted, I'm happy to see them try and pull off a cat-and-mouse-type movie, but for Pete's sake. Now, I'm not talking they show his face right off the bat but early enough that exemplifies why this is devoid of anything unpredictable.
You see everything as clear as a pop-up ad on your computer advertising Internet gambling, among other things.
Lane, an impressive and ageless actress whose talent transcends her good looks, is eternally wasted here. She is not only stuck with an empty, dumbed-down script but gives a through-the-motions performance that is the complete opposite to her racy, powerful, Oscar-nominated performance in "Unfaithful."
One must feel sorry for her, because how can you not like Cherry Valance from "The Outsiders?"
Also, Hanks-sounding more and more like his famous dad, Tom-also is constrained by the script he's given. Granted, his resume is not as extensive as Lane's, he does come from damn good genes.
All in all, "Untraceable" is a ho-hum, seen-it-all-before movie. It's supposed to be about suspense, psychopathic and social commentary and Lane's woman scorned.
And yet there is few traces of evidence to support that accusation.
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