Mindhunters [2004]
Director: Renny Harlin
Actor: Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, Jonny Lee Miller, LL Cool J
When this film was over, I thought; “What a waste of 106 minutes.” Now that I’ve given it some thought I realise I was too harsh on this film. It really doesn’t hit the spot that it wants to, but it’s not altogether bad. Jonny Lee Miller (a.k.a. Sick Boy in Trainspotting, and Dade in Hackers) was back, and I always enjoy seeing him. LL Cool J is making a bit of a name for himself and Christian Slater and Val Kilmer…well, they were put on the bill like Steven Seagal was put on the bill of Critical Decision; in order to add a few well-known names to an almost no-name cast.
The story is about a group of young, up-and-coming FBI profilers – those are the used-to-be-the-coolest-law-enforcement-profession since forensic detective took over when CSI started becoming popular. These profilers make an educated guess as to what profile the perpetrator fits so that a hunt for them is made easier. They are required to get into the mindset of often very disturbed sociopaths in order to be a step ahead of them. Supposedly, really good profilers know what a sociopath is going to do before the sociopath does. Anyway.
They are being taught by Val Kilmer’s character, an eccentric veteran profiler whose methods are considered questionable by his superiors. But he gets the job done, and he gets it done well, so they give him plenty of leeway. One of the perks of his job is that he gets access to a military training island, secluded from the rest of the world, in order to stage a realistic profiling case where the killer is at large and the group has to find him.
The fun starts when people in the group are being killed off by incredibly elaborate traps, set by the killer. They find out that training time is over, and that it’s all for real. Worse yet, as time progresses it looks more and more like the killer is one of them.
See it when you’re bored. That way you won’t be disappointed.