“Untraceable”

Rating: 5/10

Starring

Diane Lane, Colin Hanks

Plot

A cyber-crime police unit is challenged by a mysterious killer who launches a Web site that broadcasts his executions live on the Internet. He rigs his site so the torture of his victims speeds up as it gains more hits from the public.

FBI agents Jennifer Marsh (Lane) and her partner Griffin Dowd (Hanks) are assigned to the case, but subsequently become targets of the killer.

The Good

The concept is creative and original, and the ending is interesting. That’s about it. Other than that, there isn’t much working in favor of this “cyber thriller.”

The Bad

There is a morality behind this concept that is never appropriately addressed. Characters in the film never really discuss what it says about society when people would actually willingly tune in to see another human being tortured and killed.

Instead of using the opportunity to tackle some questionable issues that we may or may not be confronted with in the future, the movie meets its demise by taking the cat-and-mouse route of a typical thriller.

Also, it is questionable whether or not revealing the identity of the killer so early in the film is a good idea. When it comes down to it, a movie called “Untraceable,” in which the villain is revealed to the audience before the film even reaches its climax, is…well…stupid.

Once Lane and the killer come face to face, the movie discredits the intelligence of the audience, allowing the killer to express some ridiculous, politically motivated fantasy that will surely never come to be. How sad.

Why does he need some kind of agenda to do what he does? What happened to people just being plain crazy?

The Lowdown

“Untraceable” is not a smart thriller but rather a film pretending to be one. Hanks is the only mildly likeable character, but he looks and sounds so much like his famous father that it’s a near distraction.

Genetics aside, this is a film full of weak plot devices, each one serving no purpose other than to make the next plot device somewhat plausible. Too much convenience in the story causes an inconvenience for those who would prefer to be challenged and motivated to figure things out on their own.

There is no mystery in this mystery.