2008 Woodie Awards
F.B.I. film "Untraceable" is painfully predictable
Chris Lacefield
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Entertainment
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It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out that the game will escalate from a helpless kitten to members of the cast. The deaths are gruesome, but the truly chilling aspect of the film lies not in the special effects, the camera work or the plot.
The scary part of this film is the illustration of humanity's morbid fascination with death. An electronic-visitor counter shows the victims how quickly their deaths approach, and numbers on the screen race through the millions with disturbing speed.
The director of the cyber division of the F.B.I. holds a press conference, where he says, "We are the murder weapon."
Lane's character leads the investigation that ticks plot points off the suspense-thriller formula like a soccer mom in the grocery store. Her acting is flat and unemotional. Lane fails to captivate the screen with the infectious effervescence she displayed in "Under the Tuscan Sun." She seems to be late for another appointment during the entire one hour and 41 minutes of the movie.
Colin Hanks, F.B.I. Agent Griffin Dowd, falls short in his role as comic relief and emotional cannon fodder. Hanks' normally geeky but loveable style seems childish, and he fails to engage the audience's sympathy when the villain kills him. Hanks' performance is limited more by the transparent script and formulaic direction than his ability to act.
The villain commands the screen in one notable scene. Joseph Cross plays Owen, the disturbed cyber-killer. Through a series of forged emails, Cross' character invites one of his victims to see an antique train set. Cross learns the victim's habits and passions by hacking into their personal computers. Though the scene plays out with a heavy-handed cyber-predator theme, Cross manages one line that inspires chills.
Cross mentions his father to his newly acquired victim. He says, "He died last year."
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