The Watcher 2000

Critics score:
10 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Ebert & Roeper: Read more

Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News: Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: First-time director Joe Charbanic seems to have watched too many music videos. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The Watcher isn't that hard to watch, but you could find better things to do with your eyes. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: A minor, but watchable, melodrama. Read more

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader: Read more

Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: He likes to watch, but you might not. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: While intelligently plotted and well-acted by James Spader, Keanu Reeves and Marisa Tomei, it is neither acutely suspenseful nor particularly thrilling but instead mainly numbing. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: The Watcher is a numbingly familiar exercise in fear, disgorging regular doses of grisly violence buoyed by precious little plot and pitifully thin character development. Read more

Paul Tatara, CNN.com: Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Multiple candles may be a universal symbol in movies (and rock videos) for romance and spirituality. But they're useless in illuminating the deadness of The Watcher. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: You can't buy Keanu as a sadist, but you do worry about the guys who wrote the screenplay. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: [Keanu's] line readings, aiming for a mixture of suavity and creepiness, just sound silly. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The Watcher proves to be low on suspense and high on contrivances. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Reeves, as the killer, has the fairly thankless task of saying only what the movie needs him to say; he's limited by the fact that his killer has no real dimension or personality apart from his function as a plot device. Read more

Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon.com: Exactly the kind of movie you might happen upon while watching Cinemax in your hotel room and think, 'This'll do till Conan comes on.' Read more

Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle: A hodgepodge of half-baked visual styles. Not many thrills, either. Read more

Time Out: Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: The movie is called The Watcher and, let me tell you, it's something no one should watch. Not this weekend. Not on video. Not in this lifetime. Read more