film: review

> FEMME FATALE (2002)
"The master of the erotic thriller" let his little fella direct this one while his brain went out for lunch.

By John C. Lyons
Film Critic

Starring: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Antonio Banderas

Directed by: Brian De Palma

Written by: Brian De Palma

Genre: Erotic Thriller

Our Rating: 2 out of 10

I won't go into too many details about this film. Not because I don't want to spoil anything, but because it is not worth the effort, and really there is nothing here to spoil. The teaser trailer was very unique (which actually shows the whole film in fast forward, stopping at interesting moments) and caught my interest. I would actually rather review the trailer as it was ten times better than the film! From the preview, however, I thought this movie showed real promise for Femme Fatale and the return of "the master of the erotic thriller" Brian De Palma. After seeing it, my main question is this: when will Brian De Palma get out of his slump (Snake Eyes, Mission to Mars, and now Femme Fatale) and do I want to risk another $7 on him?

Everyone should avoid this movie, unless you absolutely must see Rebecca Romijn-Stamos's emotionless character get saucy, because there is nothing else here. Femme Fatale started off promisingly, but from the first "Seven Years Later" scene on it turned into an awful B-movie. When the big twist near the end occurs it tries to redeem the dreadful hour of film that you just watched, but the twist is so stupid and cliché that it somehow manages to become worse! If you can't live without seeing the "erotic" scenes just get them off the Internet. In the end it can't be denied, this movie is silly, sexist crap and no excuses can be made for it. Brian De Palma, maybe you should have just directed a porno, that way you wouldn't need to worry about building a storyline around your cheap nudie scenes.

I saw this film at the Tinseltown theaters on upper Peach Street in Erie.

(02-1112)

related links:

Femme Fatale - official site