The Tom's Guide Verdict: 'The Bone Collector'
Rating: 2/5 stars
Verdict: "The Bone Collector" is never bad. At least, not egregiously so. Unfortunately, it's also never particularly good. Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie always seem to know everything they need to, get somewhere at exactly the right time or end up just plain lucky. Even when things don't always go their way, it feels like one deus ex machina after another, which undercuts the performances.
Where to watch: Buy or rent "The Bone Collector" on Prime Video
We're another week into my 52-week Denzel Watchathon, and with "The Bone Collector," we're almost done with the 1990's. On its face, there's a lot to like about this crime thriller movie. It stars Denzel and Angelina Jolie as a pair of NYPD cops hunting down a serial killer in the Big Apple.
Oh, and there's a twist! Denzel's character, an acclaimed forensics expert named Lincoln Rhyme, is a quadriplegic, thanks to an accident during an investigation we see in the opening scene of the movie.
But that's not the only wrinkle. This movie was, to put it mildly, derided by critics. They largely panned it, and it currently holds a mere 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, unlike last week's movie, "The Siege," audiences weren't aligned with the critics on this one. Instead, they seem to like "The Bone Collector," giving it a respectful 63% rating on the site.
So I decided I had to see for myself who was right: Critics or audiences? Admittedly, I didn't have much of a choice, given this was the movie next on my list. But let's pretend I chose this serial killer thriller of my own free will.
If you want to watch this movie before you read on, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Like with many of Denzel's earlier films, "The Bone Collector" isn't currently streaming on any of the best streaming services or the best free streaming services. Instead, you'll need to buy or rent it from Amazon or the digital storefront of your choice.
This crime thriller's fatal flaw is its mediocrity
Read more Denzel Watchathon
Here are the other Denzel Washington movies I've covered so far in our Denzel Watchathon:
- "Carbon Copy" (1981)
- "A Soldier's Story" (1984)
- "Power" (1986)
- "Cry Freedom" (1987)
- "For Queen and Country" (1988)
- "The Mighty Quinn" (1989)
- "Glory" (1989)
- "Heart Condition" (1990)
- "Mo' Better Blues" (1990)
- "Mississippi Masala" (1991)
- "Ricochet" (1992)
- "Malcolm X" (1992)
- "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993)
- "The Pelican Brief" (1993)
- "Philadelphia" (1993)
- "Crimson Tide" (1995)
- "Virtuosity" (1995)
- "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995)
- "Courage Under Fire" (1996)
- "The Preacher's Wife" (1996)
- "Fallen" (1998)
- "He Got Game" (1998)
- "The Siege" (1998)
Things start okay for "The Bone Collector." We get Denzel as Rhyme investigating a crime scene set to an appropriately eerie score. Next thing we see, debris is falling and Rhyme wakes up in a bed, paralyzed from the neck down.
This, I think, is ultimately the first problem with the movie, and I could see why it wouldn't be a problem in the book that this movie is adapted from. Because Rhyme is a quadriplegic, we spend a lot of time in his room, having conversations and looking at computer screens. It also comes across that his ability to instantly dissect a crime scene and know the answer to anything that may come up is to make up for the fact that he can't go out and walk the crime scene and deduce things in real-time.
Even the arrival of Amelia Donaghy (Jolie) doesn't do much to shake things up. She does, at least, get us out in the field more as we investigate the serial killer going around town in a taxi, picking people up and finding inventive ways to murder them.
Unfortunately, she also suffers from Rhyme's condition of being able to figure out everything with relative ease, and her performance doesn't work for me in general. I don't think it's Jolie's fault; it's the character. But ultimately, I didn't find myself connecting with her or anyone else in this movie.
This gets to the core of the problem with "The Bone Collector": nothing about it does it for me. As I already alluded to earlier in this review, there's rarely anything awful about the movie. It has a talented cast that also includes Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Luis Guzmán and Ed O'Neill. It doesn't run too long. It's, at most times, perfectly fine.
But you never connect with any of the characters. Donaghy has a backstory involving a dead NYPD father that's only briefly touched on. She's also in a complicated relationship with a man named Steve (Bobby Cannavale), which seems to exist just to make us wonder if he's the one making noise outside Donaghy's apartment in a later scene in the movie. Exploring either of these relationships would have done wonders for getting closer to her character, but it just doesn't happen.
Verdict: 'The Bone Collector' is a mere copycat killer flick
It's tough to watch "The Bone Collector" and not compare it to "Seven," which probably isn't fair to this movie. After all, David Fincher's 1995 masterpiece is considered by many to be one of the best crime thrillers ever made, if not the best.
But when you compare the two, it's easy to see where this movie falls short. You're much more easily able to connect with Brad Pitt's character in "Seven." Morgan Freeman has far more agency than the bedridden Denzel. Kevin Spacey is a far more creepy and compelling serial killer villain than the killer in "The Bone Collector." It's, simply put, a very similar movie that gets everything right, making it a rough comparison for Denzel and Angelina Jolie's facsimile to endure.
Adding insult to injury, you can stream "Seven" for free on Tubi. Granted, it won't have Denzel in it, but that's about the only negative thing I can say. If you one day get the chance to stream "The Bone Collector" for free, then by all means, give it a chance too. But I can't in good conscience recommend streaming it for $3.99 when a free, far better alternative is available.
Buy or rent "The Bone Collector" on Prime Video now
