Snipper: MindHunters

Intense 'Game' of Profiling Minds / Crash-Course to clear the FBI Profiling Exam:-)

Snip-in:
The couple of DVD shops in the neighborhood had been closed for more than 2 months, since June 2010, which prompted me to opt for BigFlix. NetFlix experience I had in the US was just great and BigFlix barring a few exceptions, is pretty close to the same during last 6+ weeks. After watching a few movies, after a month, I ordered 'MindHunters' with recommendations from welcome movie buffs. It turned out be a great pick.

The story is about the group of FBI junior folks who are attempting a 'so called final examination' to be selected as 'Serial Killer Profilers'. The trainer is Jake (Val Kilmer) who is supposedly having a very distinct selection procedure. He sends the group of 8 odd junior folks and Captain Dave (LL Cool J) as 'External Observer' to an island for a weekend task. The completely deserted but fully functional town on the Island is used by the US Navy for certain trainings and Jake usually loans it from the Navy to carry out his discrete trainings. Over this weekend in a mock set-up these FBI folks are supposed to be creating and tracking a 'Serial Killer Profile'.

Being a suspense thriller no awards to guess that 1 amongst these 10 odd folks is the serial killer. And the suspense is very nicely built-up by showing how someone in the group cleverly uses the detailed psyche of each one of the 8 folks, how they think and respond to certain situations, how to instigate them to make mistakes and succumb to the death trap, that is laid out differently for each one of them. The plot is great but the key success of the movie (director) is keeping the suspense a mystery towards the very end.

Snip-out
Well the suspense is outstanding but the script is woven of situations and incidences which are super-coincidental and its a more than perfect plot. Profiling and riding on peoples psyche is fine, but even by FBI standards:-) making a group of 8 FBI students act/do what 1 person wants is actually unrealistic. But the same perfect plot is usually the core of any suspense thriller and one can definitely ignore that, considering the very edgy movie.

Snip-O-Meter
This is purely a directors movie, built on a very tight and fast paced script, which doesn't give viewers the time to think. Christian Slater is a nice surprise in a more than a cameo role - I guess we all have forgotten him. I almost have become his fan after watching his stunning performance in 'Broken Arrow', when he nearly outplayed John Travolta. Val Kilmer is Val Kilmer :-)! - You get to see it in the movie. LL Cool J is fine as well. Even though a bit violent can be watched in one of the Saturday afternoons, so as to relish on the plot for next 1.5 days ;)