Mediocre performances aside, there were a lot of missed opportunities in this movie.
The miscasting of Finney and Dey is a big problem. Finney is not the right actor for the role of the protagonist/romantic lead and you can't help feeling he's just picking up a paycheck. He certainly doesn't put any effort or sincerity into the part. Dey is just plain wrong in a role as a model with supposedly "perfect" and symmetrical features. Dey is cute and great in many roles, but Crichton really needed someone who actually has a symmetrical face.
As a director (and, unfortunately, also as an author) Crichton puts much effort into some details and none at all into others. Why, for example, does the main bad guy/thug move items unnecessarily when searching an apartment? The victims always notice that the items are out of place or missing. That's just stupid. Plus, why kill off people under such obvious and suspicious circumstances? It's not like the police don't investigate murders. An intelligent assassin also wouldn't use a submachine gun in a doctor's office, the Looker weapon wouldn't fit in a standard pistol holster, a sink won't spray water out of the drain when hit by an errant bullet, yada-yada....
There are some creepy sequences, but far fewer than Crichton intended. Worth seeing if it's on SciFi, but don't waste a rental on it. I never did understand why it was necessary to kill any of the models, either.
The miscasting of Finney and Dey is a big problem. Finney is not the right actor for the role of the protagonist/romantic lead and you can't help feeling he's just picking up a paycheck. He certainly doesn't put any effort or sincerity into the part. Dey is just plain wrong in a role as a model with supposedly "perfect" and symmetrical features. Dey is cute and great in many roles, but Crichton really needed someone who actually has a symmetrical face.
As a director (and, unfortunately, also as an author) Crichton puts much effort into some details and none at all into others. Why, for example, does the main bad guy/thug move items unnecessarily when searching an apartment? The victims always notice that the items are out of place or missing. That's just stupid. Plus, why kill off people under such obvious and suspicious circumstances? It's not like the police don't investigate murders. An intelligent assassin also wouldn't use a submachine gun in a doctor's office, the Looker weapon wouldn't fit in a standard pistol holster, a sink won't spray water out of the drain when hit by an errant bullet, yada-yada....
There are some creepy sequences, but far fewer than Crichton intended. Worth seeing if it's on SciFi, but don't waste a rental on it. I never did understand why it was necessary to kill any of the models, either.