On M List of Movie Reviews
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Mr. Brooks (2007)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
11/25
11/25:
"Overstuffed" is how the critics described Mr. Brooks.
I agree with them, and it starts with Demi Moore as Atwood. What is she doing in the film?
This is supposed to be about Kevin Costner. His character is interesting enough that there's no reason to
add various subplots into the equation.
The most unbelievable scene is when Atwood got thrown from the van with her back landing on the windshield
which should've rendered her paralyzed afterwards. Instead, she gets stitches on her head. In the meantime,
who cares about Atwood's divorce problems? What does Meeks have to do with the grand scheme of things?
Consequently, Mr. Brooks has become an ordinary serial killer in the final thirty minutes.
Trying to be clever with Graves Baffert doesn't help. Ditto for Jane who happens to "inherit" his father's
tendency to kill. Her connection to Atwood as some kind of an analogy is ridiculous. How about Mr. Brooks
having the ability to obtain anybody's personal information in one sitting? At least, director-writer Bruce A.
Evans has done a good job of making William Hurt an important player as his alter ego which is keen because of
Kevin Costner missing out on working with him during two Lawrence Kasdan pictures during the 80's:
The Big Chill and Silverado.
In past films, a common complaint I have is somebody putting his gun into the deceased person's hand to make
it appear that the latter did the killing instead of the former. But it's not going to be proven
true because there's no gun residue on his hands or forearms, hence the plastic bag on Mr. Brooks.
All in all, by failing to control the material in Mr. Brooks, Bruce A. Evans never worked again in
Hollywood.