Criminal Minds (TV Series) The Big Game (2007) User Reviews

Why so many writers?

[redsam_2 · 7/10 · 11 April 2010]

Okay, if you have not seen this yet, just don't read any further.

My biggest gripe about this episode (I'm just gonna ignore the computer mistakes) is when Dr. Reid and J.J. are at the unsub's house. They follow him into the barn, while it is dark, with no backup. Now that MAY be believable, but what is totally unbelievable is when Reid runs after the guy into the cornfield. COME ON WRITERS! No smart person, let alone a trained Doctor for the FBI, would blindly run after a killer into a cornfield AT NIGHT!! I hate it when they bring in extra writers or new writers and they don't follow the style that the show has been written in for the previous seasons. It ruins the personalities of the characters when you have them saying contradictory stuff from one episode to the next.

This was a badly written episode, but very entertaining. The writing has gotten better, thank goodness!

Pretty good, but could have been better

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 9 July 2016]

By all means, "The Big Game" is nowhere near among the low-points of 'Criminal Minds'. At the same time, it's not one of the great, or even masterful, episodes. Although it needs a re-watch, this reviewer does remember the follow-up episode that concludes the two-parter being better.

There are many great things here in "The Big Game", it's tense, suspenseful, often nail-biting and sometimes shocking and one of the show's most memorable serial killers. At the same time, one cannot ignore the odd laziness in the writing.

Starting with the many good things, the production values are very high, stylish and dripping in atmosphere with some of the show's most effective use of darkness (the opening makes the skin crawl). The music is only used when necessary, but when it does it suits the mood and never inappropriately or distractingly placed, if not quite enhancing.

Also really love the dynamic between the team, the profiling, the banter, the chilling biblical references and the delving into the unsub's minds, which even the weaker episodes (apart from the ones that don't feel like 'Criminal Minds') fare decently in. The story starts off incredibly promisingly with an atmospherically lit and shot, tense and suspenseful opening, which is maintained up to when the identity of the unsub is figured out, so the episode is very atmospheric and entertaining.

Plus even though off-screen the murders are pretty brutal, a notable example being the cheating woman being torn to pieces by dogs in a reference to Jezebel. Even though you don't see it you hear it, the team's horrified and disgusted expressions are enough to convince anybody that it was a horrendous way to die.

Direction is also more than solid, the pacing continually involves the viewer and the acting from all the leads is very good, particularly Mandy Patinkin and Matthew Gray Gubler. A big shout out has to go to James Van Der Beek as Tobias Hankel, it's a role that is so far removed from his previous stuff but one that he plays in a way that sends chills down the spine.

However, "The Big Game" does unfortunately suffer from some instances of lazy writing. There are some really nice touches still and the case is intriguing, but it is hard to ignore the computer mistakes, the error made by Gideon regarding the Jezebel reference (Jezebel actually died being thrown out of a window, the dogs came in after her death, not the cause as implied by Gideon) and lapses in continuity that suggest different or too many writers.

Also agree about the implausible ending and also that even for an episode that takes time to develop it does take too long for the team to figure it all out when it was obvious early on and in front of them the whole time. It took until over two thirds of the way in to figure it out, even with obvious clues, while the viewer knew about fifteen minutes in.

Overall, pretty good 'Criminal Minds' episode and often great, but there are better and more consistently written episodes of the show around. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Good lord this is scary

[lottiemarshalllm · 9/10 · 12 August 2020]

Disclaimer:I am no expert reviewer, I just need a show to binge watch and I'm going to Write a review for every episode I watch.

This episode has a strong beginning,middle and end which is honestly a little bit rare for any TV show.

It starts with a thrilling beginning with two very scary murders and then the hunt begins to find them which is intense and scary as more victims or put it risk. Also enjoyed seeing flashbacks to the unsubs abusive childhood

And the ending is horrifying. I don't feel like this show normally leaves me with cliffhangers the only exception is the Fisher King so this episode was quite a shock to me.

I've read another reviews saying that the best episodes are when you either feel sympathy for the unsub or complete hated and this episode has both because he has the dual personality of his lingering abusive father and his own more regretful self. I love how this puzzled both the audience and the team as it was such a unheard of team of killers.

I also must say that this is one of the scariest episodes yet. These scenes with the dogs were terrifying and the fact that we saw the killings since they were recorded for the Internet made this episode honestly a little hard to watch.

Overall a really scary intense episode that drops really subtle good hints about the unsub. When I realized that Reid and JJ were at the unsubs house since they were going to interview him about the report that he given a couple months ago I legitimately got scared.

Good episode but the brutality honestly is too much even for me.

A schizophrenic killer in Georgia believes that he is the Archangel Raphael and is determined to execute his mission and kill all the sinners.

[paige-28 · 10/10 · 23 November 2008]

Yet another excellent "criminal minds" episode. The team is now facing a schizophrenic killer who is convinced that he is the Archangel Raphael and wishes to cleanse the world from all the sinners. He's already killed four people;literally butchered a rich couple and threw a woman who cheats on her husband to the dogs while he slaughtered her lover.Nothing seems to be able to stop him,when the team finds out that the witness that Reid and J.J. had been sent to, is in fact the un-sub.The rest.....on the next episode! Well-played by the actors (Matthew Gray Gubler is once more the perfect Dr Reid) and especially a well-written script that will definitely make you jump from your seat and want to watch the next episode IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!

Swoosh, BADAM and Swish!

[Tentacula · 6/10 · 20 April 2011]

Now I do not know if it is me this time, but from the intro onwards, in this episode I get annoyed at all the background noises that are supposed to make a scene more scary. Sometimes a huge *BAM!* seems kind of lost though. Then there is the obligatory shadow on the wall and at least two special effect sounds for that. Shadows are louder these days.

The logics in this episode are a bit weird, some pieces do not really fit together, however it is quite entertaining. This might not have been a gem - at all, yet I am hooked and really want to know what is going to happen (this is a two-piece episode).

Altogether this episode seems like a mumbo-jumbo of simple film making techniques for the easily-amused, with a few interesting ideas and a very likable A.J. Cook.

Favorite quote of the episode: "Wh.. Reid! Are you sure we should... Split up?" I love clichés!

So badly written.

[StoneLeprecon · 1/10 · 21 October 2009]

It seemed to have a lot of misses and plot holes. I will try and go over them to show how bad this episode was.

1: When you control a computer from a distance, your IP address (every computer connected to the internet has its own IP, sortof like a phone number) gets logged on the computer that is being controlled.

2: He works in tech support, does so from home, and nobody monitors/logs his calls ? He doesn't have a boss ? Nope, this company works unlike any other normal company. (also, any sane company would at least keep logs of who takes control of what where and when, in order to avoid frivolous "I got a virus from your company" lawsuits)

3: At a certain point they found the one responsible and one of them says "call for help" after which the other one say "Theres no signal here". Unless the country side was located in a concrete bunker, I find that hard to believe and its just painful to hear the phrase "Theres no signal here". These people fly around in a jet and they cant afford a decent cellphone ?

4: It took them immensely long to find out it was only one person. Its pretty embarrassing since all they do is leave clues for the viewers (since we apparently cant figure it out ourselves) saying that the two person theory doesn't make any sense. (and a lack of sound of "person nr2" taking the phone from "person nr1" on the tape didn't mean anything to them)

5: Once again, the digital approach, if this guy made his own website it would be traceable to him easily. If he didn't make a site himself but posted to youtube or something, all you need is a warrant or two and you have his address and name.

Usually I watch this series to be entertained, this time I watched it to see what blunders they would make next.

Wow, it very well might be the worst episode of all...

[pjaguilar-43498 · 1/10 · 9 January 2023]

Yeah please, send the press liaison and a college professor (never mind if they have formal training in field operations, they simply don't have the experience), WITHOUT a seasoned field officer to investigate a very dangerous psycopath... Yeah, a 5 years old can write better.

AND please, please, make the college professor runs into TA DAAA, A CORN FIELD lol lol lol... yeaaah, no...

Horrible writing, the premise can be solved in a million ways, but alas, we end up seeing a mixture between a comedy and an episode of the X Files...

Specially amusing is the phrase of JJ "if i can't watch this video, i can't be in the field" (or something to that effect.). Yeah... maybe because you are the frigging press liaison, and not a field officer?

I can fully understand that they wanted JJ to evolve, but that was not the way.

Very silly.

The Toilet Bowl

[nebohr · 5/10 · 19 December 2021]

We're going to go out on a limb here and predict a 0.8% chance that Gideon will more his facial muscles in such a way as to convey a human emotion.

Gee and all these years I always thought that it was the most intelligent team that won a sporting event.

Who's Pair Ease Myth?

A Gulfstream G550 costs around $3,600 an hour to operate.

We think it's Hotch. He's, like, on a huge power trip and knows a lot about unsubs and stuff, right?

Jeeze Derek it's a computer. You act like you've never seen one before.

Insert computer mumbo-jumbo here.

25 minutes in and we've got it figured out. Here's a hint: it's not Hotch.

At 39:16- Hollywood cliche #170: a group should always split up; this allows for more dangerous situations.