Hollywood has been trying to reinvent the scare on the big scream. There was “Scream,” and then recently there was “The Blair Witch Project.” Now there’s the “Bone Collector,” from Phillip Noyce, director of “Clear and Present Danger,” “Patriot Games” and “The Saint.” While Noyce doesn’t reinvent the scream on the big screen, he does create an enjoyable and suspenseful film.

The premise is Lincoln Rhyme, played by Denzel Washington, is one of the best forensic officers in the country. Within the first minute, he is paralyzed from the neck down, save one finger. Confined to a bed, Washington is contemplating assisted suicide before seizures transform him into a vegetable.

Angelina Jolie plays Amelia Donaghy, a hotheaded young cop who Rhyme quickly finds has a natural instinct for forensics. Both Rhyme and Donaghy quickly get thrown into a case with a serial killer who kidnaps victims in his taxi cab, complete with a little figure hanging from a noose from the rearview mirror.

The deaths are disgusting, though the rat infested death takes the cake. The killer cuts open the victim so that blood is flowing from the wounds, thus attracting the hungry rats. Hundreds of rats scurrying toward him and then nibble. The worst was when a rat came running toward the camera (the camera being from the perspective of the victim). The rat then opens its jaw to take a bite in the person, right in the audience’s faces, before the scene changes. Everyone in theater was disgusted.

Ed O’Neill and Queen Latifah both have fairly sizable roles in the film and do fine jobs, though I had a hard time disassociating them with characters they’ve been in the past. O’Neill will always be Al Bundy, no matter what he does or whom he plays. He did a good job as Detective Paulie Sellitto, as does Latifah as Thelma, the live-in nurse for Rhyme.

My only complaint is that the movie builds and builds consistently and then crashed down in a semi-sloppy ending that wraps things up too neatly in too short of a time. This seems to be a trend lately in movies. Either make the movie longer, or edit it down earlier so that the ending doesn’t have to come and go in the last ten minutes of the movie.

Despite the quick ending, the movie is suspenseful and entertaining. I had no clue who the killer was until he was revealed, which in itself is an asset to the flick. Washington and Jolie were exceptional and make the movie worth watching. The film shows some intelligence and apprehension that thoroughly make it enjoyable.

Originally posted at NandoNext.