Denzel Washingtonis a celebrated dramatic actorwho has led several acclaimed projects on and off the stage, but his 1999 crime thriller has been widely panned. Currently sitting with a 29% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes,The Bone Collectorsees Washington acting alongside Angelina Jolie in what had the potential to be a staple movie within the thriller genre. The ’90s were a particularly great year for thriller movies, including the better-receivedCrimson TideandDevil in a Blue Dress- both of which featured Washington in a lead role.
The Bone Collectoris a different story.The Bone Collectorfollows Washington’s Lincoln Rhyme, a paralyzed forensics expert, who teams up with Jolie’s rookie patrol officer, Amelia Donaghy, as they track down a serial killer in New York City.Washington and Jolie make a great duo on screen and are supported by an array of strong performerslike Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, and Ed O’Neill. Though the star power of the movie has allowed it to do better with audiences over the years, it’s still a largelyforgotten thriller from the ’90s.
Why Denzel Washington’s The Bone Collector Didn’t Work
The Plot Is Too Predictable And Safe
The Bone Collectordoesn’t work for a handful of reasons, but luckily, being boring isn’t one of them. As evident inThe Bone Collector’s considerably higher audience score of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, there’s plenty of fun to be had with the film, particularly with the committed performances of its lead actors and the movie’s core mystery. Still,The Bone Collector’s faults are impossible to ignore. The movie’s greatest missteps are its formulaic narrative and unsatisfactory plot twists.
The Bone Collectorhas all the makings of a classic thriller movie, such asThe Silence of the LambsandSe7en—two movies critics have frequently pointed out as being the far superior inspirations for Phillip Noyce’sThe Bone Collector. Noyce’s film even incorporates elements of the horror genre, working as a blend of a slasher and a gritty detective movie. Yet,The Bone Collectoronly takes the most clichéd and unoriginal components of such films and fails to expand on them in a way that setsThe Bone Collectorup to be innovative or effectively shocking.
Plot twists throughout The Bone Collector keep it moving at a suitable pace, but are spoiled by predictability and improbability.
Even whenThe Bone Collectordoes attempt to throw audiences for a loop, the results are mediocre. The plot twists throughoutThe Bone Collectorkeep it moving at a suitable pace, but are spoiled by predictability and improbability. Furthermore,The Bone Collectoris based on Jeffery Deaver’s crime novel from a few years prior, which only limits the narrative of the film further. Unlike other'90s thrillers based on books,The Bone Collectordoesn’t take many risks and is ultimately a forgettable movie.
The Performances Are Stronger Than The Movie’s Narrative
Before the late ’90s, director Phillip Noyce made a name for himself with thriller films likeClear and Present DangerandDead Calm, both of which are led by big names and earned a positive response from critics. On paper, it would appearThe Bone Collectorshould have found a comparable success and been one of the more memorable thrillers released during the ’90s.
Despite its poor critical reception over the years,many reviews of the film have taken notice of Washington and Jolie’s talent and compelling chemistry on screen. Washington had already established himself as a notable dramatic actor by 1999, and it was around this time thatJolie was just beginning to make a name for herself. The actors, along with their co-stars like Latifah and O’Neill, do a lot of good with the little depth they’re given in the film’s script.
Lincoln and Amelia’s mentor and protégé relationship is captivating and is as much of a priority inThe Bone Collector’s story as the hunt for the serial killer is —positively differing from Deaver’s original novel, where the characters' relationship is not focused on as much. At a similar rank in Hollywood at the time as their characters are inThe Bone Collector,Washington and Jolie are a wonderful duo whose talent and commitment to their roles spotlight the potential thatThe Bone Collectorhadto be better.
