Uneven, but interesting. It's very creepy-crawly and leaves you feeling sort of icky by the end, but some aspects are left unexplored or undeveloped improperly. Kevin Costner and William Hurt are both dynamic, and all of their conversations are fascinating to watch. Dane Cook and Demi Moore give serviceable performances and not much more, as Cook isn't terribly great at playing it straight and Moore's character doesn't really add much to the movie. Essentially, a flawed picture, but an intriguingly flawed one. B-

Hmm, I thought it was terrific, actually. Twisted and compelling from beginning to end, packed with outstanding performances from Costner and Hurt.

A-

Just shy of brilliant. I thought there were one too many subplots (Hangman killer) and I thought there were one too many false endings. The film would've ended on a great note if they had just stuck "the scissors" ending. That saying, I guess the ending works just as well since the "possibility" is still there. Still though, the film is very good thanks to the great performances by Costner and Hurt.

A-

A pleasantly creepy little melodrama that slightly overstays it's welcome by stretching it's premise beyond suspension.

...not that every melodrama doesn't gotta stretch it's premise -- that's the very definition of melodrama in my book -- but Mr. Brooks stretches it so far with the whole Demi Moore detective angle that it was starting to tear around the edges. And even that is okay in a melodrama as long as the whole thing doesn't rip apart before you get to the finish line. The main storyline is a freakin' thoroughbred...

Mr. Brooks held together -- just barely, and was all the better for the ride...

6 out of 5.

I thought it was very good - quite creepy and always entertaining throughout. The performances were all solid, especially Kevin Costner and William Hurt. Dane Cook and Demi Moore did decent supporting work as well. It was very intriguing, and despite the presence of too many storylines I was always interested in what was unfolding onscreen. I'd definitely recommend it.

B+

I would like to contrast Mr. Brooks with Basic Instinct 2. The former tries to explain too much while the latter tries to withhold too much from the audience. Here I will just focus on Mr. Brooks.

I don't need you to self-explain how organized and omnipotent a person Mr. Brooks is by telling me why he has a key to the graveyard (That scene made me laugh amongst other dismissable cheap shocks.) and how he manages to travel out-of-state to commit a murder to cover up for his daughter. For the low-key, reserved and man-of-the-year Mr. Brook, an alcoholic support group certainly would not be a place you expect to find him in.

Mr. Brooks is neither clever nor organized, he is just lucky.

Grade: C

A-

Fascinating film to watch.

I'm with Libs on this. A deeply flawed film, yet deeply intriguing. It has no solid sense of purpose or direction or resolution, but the ride is really interesting while it lasts. Solid performances all around.

Just saw it and thought it was awesome. Hurt was fantastic as always and Costner finally steps back into a superb performance. I was impressed with Cook as well. He'll never go far, but he's much better than other comics going into films these days. Demi Moore was all right, she felt out of place though. The back and forth of Costner and Hurt made the movie, and I hope they go on with the so called trilogy of Mr. Brooks.

One of my favorite films of the year.

A

a very flawed film that could have been good. The whole cast was great but it really needed some editing.

C

I'm pretty sure my grade would be higher if I hadn't seen Gone Baby Gone right after it. Overall this is a solid thriller with a solid performance from Costner with no real surprises. B-

B


An interesting concept, a decent execution, but not much more. Kevin Costner shines here in a very dark role and plays off William Hurt very well. He actually does his job so good that you start feeling for this serial killer. Dane Cook is surprisingly good too, while Demi Moore is severly underused here. The whole idea with this crazy killer who is just addicted to murdering and can't help it is intriuing, but I think the movie doesn't take it far enough.

I also really really wished they had ended it 30 seconds earlier and had kept a much ballsier and harsher ending. Meh. Otherwise, it's decent, but not much more.

I was really surprised at how much I liked this.

Costner and Hurt were great together and I didn't think there was a weak link among the rest of the cast. Not everyone was great, but they were all solid enough. Yes, it was a little subplot crazy (I think it would have been better balanced without the Hangman killer stuff) but I found it extremely interesting and I've got to agree with another thing mentioned here--it would have been even better if it ended with the scissors bit. Even though as soon as his daughter popped up I thought to myself that she was also a killer, I still was surprised when she sunk those scissors into her dad's neck.

What I thought might happen post-scissors was maybe one shot of the daughter heading towards her mom's room with the scissors then credits or maybe that the daughter was the one having the dream, indicating where her mind is at. Even if it "just" ended with the scissors in dad's neck that still would have been quite the ending.

Costner and Hurt are terrific, of course, and their scenes together are the best parts of the film. Unfortunately, they're nearly ruined by the presence of Douchebag Cook. Cut him out, and the film instantly becomes better. Demi Moore is fine, but her subplots don't add anything. A lot of excess fat weighing this thing down.

It's generally a tense, atmospheric thriller, but it could've been something great.