For the first 20 minutes D-Tox is actually very good - Stallone gives another strong acting performance reminiscent of Cop Land and director Jim Gillespie uses good locations and lighting techniques to set up atmospheres. It had a real feel of Se7en and I was expecting to get a half decent film afterall (I had read many damning reviews). However, the first pitfall with D-Tox comes with the murders. START SPOILER - When the two people are killed by the drill, we feel absolutely zero emotion. There is no build up to the events and subsequently we are left wondering why this moment is so significant. END SPOILER All of a sudden we are carted off to the D-Tox centre, a fantastic location in the middle of nowhere that could have made for an excellent suspense/horror flick (I.E The Thing). Quite how we get here is a mystery, but let's try and forget that. Anyway, for the next 40 minutes we get nothing but talk. Sly is down and has bad dreams about his wife and the rest just bitch at each other while smoking excessively. None of the characters are likeable and when the action finally picks up for the last half hour, it ends up as a complete mess. It feels like an entire middle section of the film was cut out, which wouldn't suprise me considering that the film was actually shot two years ago, leaving the editors with plenty of time to edit and re-edit. Things aren't helped by some very sloppy editing, where two shots run into each other. This happens a few times and leaves the viewer disorientated as it's hard to pin down where the different scene started. Robert Patrick, a favourite of mine, gives a performance so stiff it seems like he was numbed by the cold, appearing as the hard as nails guy at the start and ending up as a loser who breaks down in tears. As for the rest of the well-known but past their best cast, well, they simply look like they're wondering what the hell they're doing in a film like this. Finally, the revelation of the murderer is so mind-numbingly obvious it hurts. And when this guy is revealed, he resorts to such threatening lines as 'You have nice eyes. I like you.'
In conclusion, this is one to miss. It is one of the most tedious, suspense-free films I have seen lately and it's no wonder Universal decided to slip it out onto DVD so quietly. Sure, it isn't Stallones worst but if the guy thinks that c*** like this is going to revive his box office appeal, he better think again. After this, I wouldn't be suprised if he followed Van Damme in the straight-to-video game. Atrocious.
In conclusion, this is one to miss. It is one of the most tedious, suspense-free films I have seen lately and it's no wonder Universal decided to slip it out onto DVD so quietly. Sure, it isn't Stallones worst but if the guy thinks that c*** like this is going to revive his box office appeal, he better think again. After this, I wouldn't be suprised if he followed Van Damme in the straight-to-video game. Atrocious.