Verdict
Summary
Based on a novel, and intended as a would-be successor to the game-changing serial killer thriller Se7en, The Bone Collector is pure mass-market escapism with a unique protagonist who literally can’t move a muscle other than an index finger. In a way, it has the vibe of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, but this film never quite musters enough suspense or originality to make it a classic. Kino Lorber brings The Bone Collector to 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray, and I compared it to the special edition DVD release from Universal, and this edition easily wins the contest for picture clarity and overall presentation with a super sharp image transfer from a 4K scan.
Plot:
A serial killer leaves clues that only a bed-bound detective can decipher.
Review:
An accident leaves detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) paralyzed and completely immobile and bound to a bed for the rest of his life, and years later he has become an invaluable asset to the New York police department as a consultant on difficult cases. When a beat cop named Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) responds to a call about a body buried under a bridge, she discovers crucial clues and evidence that point to the fact that the body she finds is connected to a slew of previous unsolved murders. When the department calls on Rhyme to help them out, he commends Donaghy and demands that she assist him in the field in a way that he believes only she can, which rankles the ire of the department head (played by Michael Rooker) because it goes against protocol. Rhyme realizes that there’s a serial killer at work – and has been at it for a long time – and with more victims planned – which means he needs Donaghy to make haste to be observant at each crime scene to discover crucial tiny clues that, when all put together, will resemble a puzzle. The killer closes in on Rhyme, who is planned as the final victim …
Based on a novel, and intended as a would-be successor to the game-changing serial killer thriller Se7en, The Bone Collector is pure mass-market escapism with a unique protagonist who literally can’t move a muscle other than an index finger. In a way, it has the vibe of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, but this film never quite musters enough suspense or originality to make it a classic. The performances are fine, with Washington keeping it pretty real, and Jolie, who was fairly fresh in her career, emerges as an appealing counterpart who gently nudges herself as a love interest to Washington more than just a partner. Director Phillip Noyce fared much better in this genre with the superlative and incredible film Dead Calm and big studio films such as Patriot Games, but The Bone Collector is strictly for fans of the genre and its lead actors rather than for its entertainment factor.
Kino Lorber brings The Bone Collector to 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray, and I compared it to the special edition DVD release from Universal, and this edition easily wins the contest for picture clarity and overall presentation with a super sharp image transfer from a 4K scan. Special features include a ported over commentary by Noyce, plus two bonus commentaries by two different groups of film historians, plus an archival making-of feature and a trailer, plus a slipcover and a reversible sleeve with alternate artwork.
