The Panic Room starring Jodie Foster. safe room film thriller

"Panic Room" is easily one of those movies that comes along after a dry spell and sells tickets. Is it worth it? Sure, why not. Nice camerawork and some good performances. Jodie Foster plays a recent divorcee who is househunting for her and her teen daughter. She finds one alright. Previously owned by an apparent rich, disabled paranoid man who felt it necessary to create a room in the house that is inpenitrable. Steel walls, camera system, it's own phone line, emergency supplies, ventilation..you get the picture. She's wary of the idea of it at first, but it's not like you'll probably ever use it....right?

Except in the movies.

So the first night they settle into bed and who breaks in but 3 guys dead set on getting something out of that room. They don't know the place is occupied nor expected it to be..and mother/daughter are awakened and lock themselves in. But they forgot to hook up that phoneline! Darn it all. The 3 guys aren't going anywhere until they get what they came for. It turns out one of them (Whitaker) builds them for a living so he knows all about it. He seems like a nice enough guy tho, I mean we DO empathize with him more than the other two..one of them being a complete psycho and the other a guy who just wants to kill someone. Anyone.

It has some good suspense, but it's not what you call an "Edge of your seat" thriller. There are too many facts placed in the movie that take away the guesswork. In fact they become more distracting as I pondered on the improbabilities of many of them. But i'll get to that. I really like the premise of the film - in fact I admittedly liked the opening credits best. However films never seem to know how to end it - and this is one of those films that leaves the audience feeling a little jilted. Maybe not so much jilted but just given an ending that we couldn't leave satisfied with. Foster is always enjoyable to watch and no matter how bad a guy Whitaker plays he's always somehow likable. Dwight Yokum is hardly recognizable till the end and half the movie I kept thinking he sounded alot like Kevin Spacey. Overall a decent film to tide you over until a good film comes out. Whenever that will be. Often you note how a film could have been better, but still acknowledge it was good fun. However "Panic Room" is one of those films that screams to be critiqued..

THINGS THAT BUGGED ME - SPOILER WARNING

The Panic Room: Nifty little room. Can't get in. Previous owner sure payed ALOT of money to have that room built to keep criminals out. But why didn't he invest a few hundred dollars for say, a better security system on his home? Ever heard of Brinks? The fact that the only thing holding the front and back doors closed was a piddly little latch lock was laughable with the extreme measures taken for a "Panic Room".

Propane Tank Scene: I realize lighting a match in a room filled with gas will eventually send a fireball back to the source. But wouldn't it turn you into crispy toast in the meantime?

The Cop: The cop who comes to check on them after her ex reports her phonecall to him that broke off. A sentence that only was "there are 3.." After questioning she comes up with solid excuses, even his asking her to wink at him if something is wrong and she did NOT. How did he manage to convince his captain to send in the entire swat team an hour later with no real evidence of anything wrong? Even his partner didn't suspect anything.

The Phone: It's like 3am, very posh side of town, probably few violent crimes in comparison to seedier areas. She calls the 911 emergency Line - and is put on hold. I actually had no idea that if you called an emergency line that a long wait on hold was even possible. So much for quick response..

How does the average person even think to know how to rewire stuff in there to make the inside line work? Get real. I can barely figure out how to uncoil my phone cord.

The husband was almost a sidenote. I guess someone had to get the stuffing beat out of them.

In the end you realize that the film may have worked. It was an intruging story of cat and mouse, one outwitting the other. If that daughter didn't conveniently have diabetes causing her to leave the room they would have won! Well unless the criminals camped there.

Side Note: Apparently the previous owner thought to put a first aid kit in the room but no thought to put a few twinkies in there? You build one for the unexpected where you might have to stay an uknown amount of time in there, seems logical you'd stock just a little food and water..

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