TCTTS said:

---

I'm not "mad." Just utterly baffled, disappointed, and frustrated that things like this can get made, when there's so much better material out there, getting passed over or waiting to be made.

---

This mirrors my thoughts. And i am not an Hollywood insider

I'd love to know how many of the film-producers/folks saw the film long during the time they could have corrected the ending with 10-15 minutes of footage rewrite or fixes....and said: nah, this is great!

TCTTS said:

---

This. I like Malik, but his forte is playing eccentrics and weirdos. Here, he was like an alien trying to play a normal human being and it just did not work at all.

---

That's literally how I described it to my SO as we were watching... "Yes fellow human being I agree. I'm glad that we as both human beings can agree. I'm off to do human being things, don't be suspicious of me."

That would have been 400 times better.

I almost feel like that is what the story line was intended to be all along (note that in first scene with Denzel in Kern county there is a newspaper that says something like "Body of 4th stabbing victim found in Bakersfield" so there was definitely killings going on "up north.")

But I think 2020 happened and they decided they couldn't put the public through additional psychological trauma of making Denzel an evil a-hole, so they re-wrote it.

I wonder if it was that or maybe even everything that went down this summer with BLM (or is that what you're implying by "2020"?)? Either way, maybe they thought it was too much or too controversial to make a cop a serial killer, so they changed it last minute? But yeah, there HAD to be something more to this. Otherwise, the script is just so bad and so pointless. As-is, it's a nothing movie with a nothing ending.

It was written 30 years ago.

It was simply a dud script that the studios thought they could attach some acclaimed actors to and have it be passable noir.

it was pretty bad

I guess I'll go against everyone here. I actually enjoyed it.

Meh, not a huge fan

I wonder if it was that or maybe even everything that went down this summer with BLM (or is that what you're implying by "2020"?)? Either way, maybe they thought it was too much or too controversial to make a cop a serial killer, so they changed it last minute? But yeah, there HAD to be something more to this. Otherwise, the script is just so bad and so pointless. As-is, it's a nothing movie with a nothing ending.


NM - realized my post revealed your spoiler text.

My point was - it's been done before. I'm with the earlier poster in his theory on who it was.

Proposition Joe said:

---

TCTTS said:

---

This. I like Malik, but his forte is playing eccentrics and weirdos. Here, he was like an alien trying to play a normal human being and it just did not work at all.

---

That's literally how I described it to my SO as we were watching... "Yes fellow human being I agree. I'm glad that we as both human beings can agree. I'm off to do human being things, don't be suspicious of me."

---

This is the other thing that bothered me, outside of almost 100% of the plot, Malek was totally the wrong casting for that role. He does not fit the bill for the buttoned up, straight laced cop, on the fast track to a promotion. They needed someone else. Malek reminds me of Michael Shannon, you just can't put him in the normal guy role, it's not his bag.

Also, in what part of LA, or the entire state of CA for that matter, can a detective afford that house his family lived in? That was also grinding my gears.

I have a question about the fancy footwear. They showed the fancy boots that the girl could identify as the killer's in Denzel's room, getting tossed along with all his stuff, by the landlord. How does that connect?

benchmark said:

---

I have a question about the fancy footwear. They showed the fancy boots that the girl could identify as the killer's in Denzel's room, getting tossed along with all his stuff, by the landlord. How does that connect?

---

Wasn't he wearing them after buying clothes from the thrift store?

If it was Denzel that was the killer it certainly would make it a better movie. Overall it felt like a movie that did nothing but play all the cliche ominous type foreshadowing and ending up having nothing of substance that was foreshadowed.

Definitely more of a character study than a "who-done-it". No surprise ending, etc... I didn't dislike it, but I didn't come away thinking it was an instant classic either. The actors did a fine job but the storyline was somewhat lacking.