After a relatively engaging turn in the football folly The Replacements, Keanu Reeves has found something else to do before shooting back to back Matrix sequels. Someone convinced him to play a psycho in the uninvolving The Watcher, yet another serial killer flick that tries to add a new twist on a tired genre. In this typical thriller, the killer actually taunts a police detective by sending him pictures of his victims before he kills them. The detective is played by the excellent James Spader (Sex, Lies, and Videotape), a cop that suffers from numerous ailments, including a tragic past. The film tries to imply that the killer and the detective actually have many things in common. They're both loners, their both obsessed with one another etc. The Watcher actually has this "Heat" type thing going but never rises to that film's energy or depth of character.

Director Joe Charbanic's style is all over the place to say the least. The film has a surprising lack of tension (ala The Cell) and never really evokes any real scares. The Watcher offers some cool tunes but is undercut by a terrible and heavily intrusive score. The only real strong point in this film is the dependable Spader. He's done something new with the typical detective role. His detective is a flawed man, who has a hard time dealing with people. Spader also adds a vulnerability that gives The Watcher it's only strength. The Watcher is in the same league as Kiss the Girls and Switchback, forgettable thrillers that try to infuse new life into a genre, but can't hold a candle to such superior films as Silence of the Lambs and Seven.