Butterfly on a Wheel

Better Than The Reviews Suggest, 20 December 2010

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom


This film went pretty much straight to DVD/TV with the associated stigma that accompanies that. But although there were obvious shortcomings, it still has a fair bit going for it. The three star actors, Gerard Butler, Maria Bello and Pierce Brosnan are a strong trio, and the story is fine. What goes wrong? Probably that Director Mike Barker's credentials as predominantly a TV Director glare through with a lack of big screen vision or continuity.

The plot twists limit what can be said about the story, but the core revolves around a "perfect couple"( Butler/ Bello) whose daughter is kidnapped by a mysterious psychopath (Brosnan) who looks to deconstruct their lives. The element which is always fragile is the extent to which the couple choose not to escape or contact the Police simply because the kidnapper, who is with them, has their daughter.

If you can get over that, the story is tense, gallops along, and has a series of good set-pieces. Bello is hot, and Brosnan suitably menacing, albeit with a wavering accent. In the hands of a more accomplished Director, this would have been pretty good, but the episodic construction clunks, and the final twist, whilst compelling again requires a giant leap of motivational faith.