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Review

The fact that Washington is stuck in a bed for 99% of the film surprisingly takes nothing away from this intense, involving thriller. He plays a seasoned police criminologist who is paralyzed from the neck down while on a case. Contemplating suicide, he is temporarily distracted, and a little enthused to be working again, when he's asked to help in an especially difficult case -- a serial killer is picking up passengers in a cab and brutally skinning them. Jolie is the cop who finds the first body and is brought on to be Washington's eyes, ears and legs. A straight-forward mystery that doesn’t rely on convoluted twists and turns, The Bone Collector is a taut, efficient exercise in terror that is rarely gruesome. It's able to maintain its momentum without much blood and guts; relying on good, old-fashioned suspense to produce those goose bumps. Washington is commanding as the dedicated officer, though Jolie -- while convincing -- is clearly outperformed by her costar. Latifah is well-cast as Washington's no-nonsense nurse.