I've heard some good things about this movie and after checking the reviews here on IMDb (which are mostly positive) I decided to watch it. Maybe my expectations were too high but I have to say I was disappointed.
It has an interesting storyline. I like watching crime stories and I find cold cases to be especially interesting. Solving cold cases is usually tricky because on one hand the more time passes it is harder to solve them, but on the other hand there are advances in science and technology that can give the detectives tools that were previously unavailable.
The story is dark and at time is shown in a very graphic way, the acting is mostly ok but I felt that some scenes were forced and overly dramatic for no good reason. The main lead was too erratic and unlikable. Most of the time his behavior didn't make sense. It's possible that there was explanation to his behavior in the first movie (and surely in the novel) but I never watched or read it so I don't know. I think it should have been explained. His partner and the secretary were talking about his self destructive behavior but there was no explanation for it for the viewers. Why was he drinking so much? Why was he working alone and pushing people away? Why would he break the law in order to get evidence (which btw would not be admissible in court anyway)?
I was disappointed there was no new information or use of new technology, it seems there is no reason why it wasn't solved right in the first place. Especially considering that the murdered victims father was himself a detective.
Psychologically speaking there was no explanation as to why these four teenagers committed the crimes in the first place. It seems unlikely that they all just happened to be sadistic killers. Kimmie's behavior made even less sense. She seemed perfectly happy to participate in the crimes but when they murdered the brother and sister she suddenly grew a conscious. Why? Rape is ok, beating people is ok, falsely accusing her teacher of rape is ok but what? Murder is too much? Suddenly she is appalled and have to run and call the cops? There was no background story to any of the characters that could explain their behavior. All we know about them is that they come from rich families and they go to boarding school.
I also noticed that there was not enough attention to details. For example the two rich guys were wondering if Kimmie was still alive 20 years later but later on in the movie it is shown that she was sending hate mail to her former boyfriend for years so obviously he should have known she's alive. Why didn't her step mother called the cops when she disappeared? How could she possibly think she just took off when it was shown she was beaten, raped and then jumped out the window breaking it to pieces. How could the stepmother missed all the blood and damage in her room? Also, how did she find the ex military guy who tried to kill her and how did she get out of jail and found the two kidnapped detectives? Beating up one cop is not an explanation.
I also felt that there was no one to root for. The detectives weren't likable enough to root for, the father of the murdered kids killed himself in the beginning of the movie and the victims themselves were barely even shown so as a viewer I didn't have the chance to care for them.
All in all it was just an average movie. Nothing as special as I thought it would be. It seems this movie was meant to be dark and shock the viewers but personally I'm not a huge fan of shock for the sake of shock. The main character was too dramatic to the point it was annoying to watch. I seriously do not understand why he was so concerned about Kimmie. Shouldn't he care more about justice for the victims? Yes, she was on the run for years apparently but she was not an innocent victim or a witness. She willing participants in awful crimes (for example it was mentioned that she was laughing while the girl in the woods was being raped).
I think the story had potential but in the end it didn't live up to it. If you have absolutely nothing to do you can watch it but otherwise I'd skip it.
It has an interesting storyline. I like watching crime stories and I find cold cases to be especially interesting. Solving cold cases is usually tricky because on one hand the more time passes it is harder to solve them, but on the other hand there are advances in science and technology that can give the detectives tools that were previously unavailable.
The story is dark and at time is shown in a very graphic way, the acting is mostly ok but I felt that some scenes were forced and overly dramatic for no good reason. The main lead was too erratic and unlikable. Most of the time his behavior didn't make sense. It's possible that there was explanation to his behavior in the first movie (and surely in the novel) but I never watched or read it so I don't know. I think it should have been explained. His partner and the secretary were talking about his self destructive behavior but there was no explanation for it for the viewers. Why was he drinking so much? Why was he working alone and pushing people away? Why would he break the law in order to get evidence (which btw would not be admissible in court anyway)?
I was disappointed there was no new information or use of new technology, it seems there is no reason why it wasn't solved right in the first place. Especially considering that the murdered victims father was himself a detective.
Psychologically speaking there was no explanation as to why these four teenagers committed the crimes in the first place. It seems unlikely that they all just happened to be sadistic killers. Kimmie's behavior made even less sense. She seemed perfectly happy to participate in the crimes but when they murdered the brother and sister she suddenly grew a conscious. Why? Rape is ok, beating people is ok, falsely accusing her teacher of rape is ok but what? Murder is too much? Suddenly she is appalled and have to run and call the cops? There was no background story to any of the characters that could explain their behavior. All we know about them is that they come from rich families and they go to boarding school.
I also noticed that there was not enough attention to details. For example the two rich guys were wondering if Kimmie was still alive 20 years later but later on in the movie it is shown that she was sending hate mail to her former boyfriend for years so obviously he should have known she's alive. Why didn't her step mother called the cops when she disappeared? How could she possibly think she just took off when it was shown she was beaten, raped and then jumped out the window breaking it to pieces. How could the stepmother missed all the blood and damage in her room? Also, how did she find the ex military guy who tried to kill her and how did she get out of jail and found the two kidnapped detectives? Beating up one cop is not an explanation.
I also felt that there was no one to root for. The detectives weren't likable enough to root for, the father of the murdered kids killed himself in the beginning of the movie and the victims themselves were barely even shown so as a viewer I didn't have the chance to care for them.
All in all it was just an average movie. Nothing as special as I thought it would be. It seems this movie was meant to be dark and shock the viewers but personally I'm not a huge fan of shock for the sake of shock. The main character was too dramatic to the point it was annoying to watch. I seriously do not understand why he was so concerned about Kimmie. Shouldn't he care more about justice for the victims? Yes, she was on the run for years apparently but she was not an innocent victim or a witness. She willing participants in awful crimes (for example it was mentioned that she was laughing while the girl in the woods was being raped).
I think the story had potential but in the end it didn't live up to it. If you have absolutely nothing to do you can watch it but otherwise I'd skip it.