I'm going to spoil this, and people who have read the book can proceed at your own risk.

I saw Derailed today, and through most of the film, I remember thinking what I usually think about critics, that they're as dumb as a box of rocks. I thought I was going to be able to come back here and tell all of the people who read the book how great of an adaption it was, because it was a near perfect adaption, the villian's nationality aside, all the way up until Charles catches Lucinda in the act while in the hotel room with her next meal ticket. The film fell apart right there, because gone was the hotel explosion, gone was Charles, who was presumed dead, changing his name and relocating, sending for his wife and daughter months later, gone was how the villian found him (though the special medication was mentioned earlier in the film), and all of that was replaced with a shoot 'em up at the hotel and a very tacked on ending at the prison. Ugggghhhhhh!

It was heading to A grade territory, bordering between an A- and a B+ all the way up until the final confrontation, and then the climax really hurt it for me. It's a testament to the strength of the first 3/4 of the film that it still gets the grade it does.

B-

Can it sum it up shortly and spoiler-free.

This is one of those movies that can only be summed up with spoilers. It's really good, and a great adaption of the book for the first 3/4, and then they strayed from the ending and tacked on an ending that isn't very strong, and that took the air out of it for me.

Spoilers

I actually thought the ending in the book, with the hotel explosion because of the unrelated religious nut, was very silly. I did like the changed identity thing afterward, though.

Well, the shoot 'em up ending was anti climatic. The explosion thing was a bit out there, I'll agree, but it did lead to the identity change stuff, and that's completely gone from the movie.

Like I said, maybe the ending won't bother you, and if it doesn't, I have no doubts that you'll love it. You'll love the first 3/4 no matter what, because it's a great adaption, and the casting worked fine, I thought.

Ad executive Charles Schine (Clive Owen, SIN CITY) isn't satisfied with his life. His beloved daughter (Addison Timlin) suffers from acute diabetes and her illness and the financial problems it causes strains his marriage to wife Deanna (Melissa George, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR). His profesisonal life is faltering as well, as he's been pulled from a high-profile campaign and been demoted to dealing with smaller clients. His troubles leave him depressed, bored, and hopeless. It's this state which leads him to Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston, "Friends"), an attrative woman who, similar to him, feels caught in a loveless marriage and a less-than-fullfilling occupation. After a brief series of flirtations, Charles and Lucinda find themselves in a hotel room, undressing each other and preparing to engage in a tryst which fascinates and excites them both.

The affair is stopped when a gunman named Laroche (Vincent Cassel, OCEAN'S TWELVE) busts into their room, brutalizes Charles, and rapes Lucinda. He leaves with their wallets and both believe the terror is over... until Charles' phone rings. Laroche, exploiting Charles' love of his wife and daughter, requires $100,000 from the unfaithful man or he'll murder his wife and child. Lucinda, fearing she'll lose her daughter if her estranged, but powerful husband learns of her infidielities, forbids Charles to go to the police, leaving him to face Laroche and his volatile accomplice Dexter (Xzibit, xXx: STATE OF THE UNION) alone, a confrontation which results in a string of double crosses, close calls, and merciless murders.

DERAILED, as a thriller, is derailed due to miscasting, strange character arcs, and a series of twist endings which parade across the screen in a predictable line, each more desperate to wow moviegoers than the last. The English language debut of Swedish Mikael Håfström, the award-winning director of EVIL and DROWNING GHOST, the film's the latest affair-gone-wrong film, a sub-genre which is home to such films as FATAL ATTRACTION, UNFAITHFUL, and A PERFECT MURDER. Håfström, with cinematographer Peter Biziou (THE TRUMAN SHOW), creates a film similar to Adrian Lyne's two similar-themed films, the aforementioned FATAL ATTRACTION and UNFAITHFUL, from the claustrophobic settings to the concentration on an unfaithful person fighting to preserve their home life.

The problematic elements in DERAILED can be found in the script by Stuart Beattie (COLLATERAL) and the cast. I almost find it hard to swallow DERAILED's from the writer of COLLATERAL, an intense film which featured smart characters, realistic plot developments, and a great sense of racing against time. This time, Beattie's script is almost the complete opposite. The main character, Charles, is all over the place, beginning the film as a strong-willed, but sad man, turning into a schlub of a middle-class American who is a sheep to Laroche's wolf during the second act, and then becoming the typical action hero for the film's climax, a bland puddle of carnage. The plot, too, fails to impress, with the late-in-the-game twists threatening to lose even the most willing to suspend disbelief watchers' devotion. And the pacing is lax, with the film resembling a lamp being turned off and on and off again, as Beattie never finds a proper tone and never develops an increasing feeling of dread.

The cast is filled with strong actors, but most of them are ill-fits for their roles. Owen, who is famous because he is the rare actor who can seem both dangerous and heroic at the same time, is wasted as Charles, a bland character who is more dull than intense and not too interesting. Aniston, too, is cast against type to a fault, as America's favorite friend is lost when cast as a femme fatale. And Cassel is more over-the-top than menacing, failing to do much more than show us how much fun he has wrapping his French accented-mouth around hardcore threats with his screentime. The sole great performance is delivered by musician-turned-actor RZA (COFFEE AND CIGARETTES) as Charles' office friend Winston. The actors provides the film's edgiest performance.

Overall, DERAILED isn't the worst film of 2005, but it also fails to impact the viewer much. It is what is, a pre-fabricated, all-gloss star-centric thriller which, despite the best attempts of a talented director, falls under the weight of poor screenwriting and miscast leads. I recommend you wait for DVD to see how this affair goes wrong.

C+

I never finished the book (yet) so I can't comment entirely on the changes. I did notice a few differences in the beginning of the film though, but they were mostly for the better.

That aside, I found the film to be masterfully made. The performances are all great, the writing excellent and the overall production quality was top notch.

One of my favorite films of the year thus far.

A-

Solid thriller with some great performances. I guess not reading the ending helped?

B+

Was it me, or did Jennifer Aniston look a bit more chesty in this? Not quite like Courtney Cox being noticeable implanted in The Longest Yard, but I couldn't stop starring.

Uh...

No comment.

The first 2/3 of the movie is brilliant, all the way until the hotel shooting scene. The plot was tight; everything was believeable; the "twists", for the lack of better word, were nicely done at the right moment. Unfortunately, the last 1/3 really dragged the film down. The plot hole just got bigger and more improbable by the minute. It felt very rushed. I still give it a B though.

Yep, that's exactly how I saw it, too. If the last act would have matched the first 2 acts, it would have been in the A category for me.

My review:

http://www.worldofkj.com/reviews/Schade/derailed.php

Yow - here's another one that I don't understand the critics hate for. I really enjoyed Derailed. Clive Owen sells the whole story and helped me look past minor plot quibbles. It's no miracle, but it's darned entertaining...

4 out of 5.

as no one has mentioned this......... I thought it was good overall but during the rape and robbery, I knew Jennifer Aniston was in on it. Maybe the tv commercials gave away too much but as soon as that happened and I remembered the tv commercials - why and who is doing this to them.

One thing that I was wrong about was that I thought the guy was her husband... so was he the husband or a lover?

************

In not reading the book or anything about the movie, I didn't have a problem with the movie's ending - he took care of the bad guys and the fight / shootout was OK, he had the talk with the cop and he killed the guy who thought he got away with it. Then he got his family back. NIcely tied up movie.

*****************

one thing that didn't make sense - when he was in Luc Harris' office and waiting for Jennifer Aniston, wouldn't he have to introduce himself to the receptionist and say who he was waitiing for - I am waiting for LH, Sorry, she isn't in??

********************

also in the book - was JA character sorry when he was leaving the room and the comment at the end - she felt sorry for your sick daughter.

was that in the book or written for Jennifer Aniston to make her seemed nicer???

bump - if anyone has read the book.

B-

this was good. I liked the hole plot but there was really no suprise.

if anyone new has read the book for the above bolded questions

1 and 2 are here, goldie,
[spoil]pretty sure the guy was just her lover in the book...

in the book, Clive's character never went to Lucinda's work, and sees the different lady, if thats what youre asking.
[/spoil]
3: i dont remember that comment in the movie, and i dont remember it in the book. sorry, cant help ya.

C

It just felt a bit ordinary. And I didn't like the ending in the jail. I liked Birthday Girl a lot more than this movie.

Well, I thought the first 60 minutes of this film was pure shit. It was tedious as hell, and some things were unintentionally funny (Winston getting shot in the head). But once the twist occured, the film took of for me from there.

C+

I liked this movie. I think it was a decent effort from start to finish, but nothing that really stands out completely.

Grade: B

Nothing in this movie makes sense. Currently there is debate in the Cinemania forum on how bad FLIGHTPLAN is, because of its ending. Well not one bit of DERAILED is slightly plausible. However, for some reason, I also enjoyed the aspect as well. As it gave us some great scenes and made it a reasonably fun.

The three main actors, Owen, Aniston and Cassel, are miscast especially Owen and Cassel, but nevertheless do a great job with the material at hand.

B-