Untraceable

Though essentially entertaining, Untraceable ultimately comes off as a generic, garden-variety thriller that’s almost entirely lacking in genuine thrills or surprises – with the end result an effort that bears more than a few similarities to such like-minded small-screen endeavors as Law and Order and CSI. The storyline details the increasingly frantic search for a sadistic serial killer who’s taken to torturing his victims on an easily-accessible internet broadcast, with the hunt led by intrepid FBI agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) and her various colleagues (including Colin Hanks’ Griffin Dowd and Billy Burke’s Eric Box). Untraceable‘s been infused with a by-the-numbers sensibility that’s evident virtually from the word go, as screenwriters Robert Fyvolent, Mark Brinker, and Allison Burnett place an almost relentless emphasis on some of the hoariest elements that the genre has to offer (ie the plucky partner that inevitably winds up in the killer’s clutches). There’s little doubt, however, that the sporadic inclusion of appreciatively grisly kill sequences does assure one’s continued interest, although it’s just as clear that the movie’s overlong running time results in a third act that becomes more and more tedious and flat-out ridiculous as it progresses (that it’s eventually topped off by an especially disappointing bad-guy death certainly doesn’t help matters). Still, while there’s nothing terribly cinematic about it, Untraceable is just the kind of mindless endeavor that’ll perfectly fit the bill for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

**1/2 out of ****

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