Customer Reviews

The Skulls [VHS]

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

The Skulls finds us at Yale University, which you'll have to assume on your own like I did since they never actually say Yale. We meet Luke, who is a self-confessed former menace to society, working the cafeteria line and studying hard to make something of himself and hopefully go on to Harvard Law School. The only thing standing in the way of that goal for this young man is the fact that Harvard Law is a teensy weensy bit expensive.

Luke, along with best friend Will (Hill Harper) and girlfriend Chloe (Leslie Bibb) speculate on his chances to be chosen to join the Skulls, a secret society on campus which is rumored to pay for such things as law school bills.

It is the secrecy of the society that becomes a rift between Luke and his pals. His buddy Will speculates, "It's secret and it's elite - it can't be good." Insert ominous music here. By the stroke of midnight on that same eve, Luke finds himself in the midst of the Skulls initiation ceremony.

The rules that govern the Skulls are grounded in loyalty to the other members, a willingness to do anything to protect the other members, and keeping the integrity of the Skulls by not divulging any of the proceedings to those on the outside.

How can an organization that spawned no less than three U.S. Presidents be bad? Besides, you get a kickin' new watch to cover up the Skull logo they brand into your wrist, you've got money in your bank account, they set you up with a fancy car AND even if you have a girlfriend, they've got a couple more for you. Luke McNamara is thinking all this is too good to be true....and he's right, it is. It is only at the time of a murder cover-up that Luke begins to realize how corrupt the Skulls are and how high their influence and power runs.

Luke is warned by Skulls soulmate Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker) to back off and not try to dig too deep. Caleb's got a leg-up considering his dad, Judge Litton Mandrake (Craig T. Nelson) is the Chairman of the Skulls organization, not to mention, has designs on the Supreme Court.

As you might have guessed, The Skulls follows a pretty basic formula with the suspense, the wondering who is good and who is bad. Is an elaborate murder plot just another method to fight for control of the society? Who's the pawn and who is the player?

The Skulls seems like a watered down version of The Firm. Call it the New Coke of conspiracy movies. Almost, but not quite right. Where The Firm made it very clear where the lines were drawn and the penalties for disloyalty were clear, with The Skulls, there doesn't appear to be anything at stake for the society. They talk about being a member and understanding the virtues of the organization and that the laws of the Skulls are above all other laws, but it still rings hollow. The Firm infiltrated the lives of its characters, and so does The Skulls, but it never explains why. The conflict is room temperature at best.

I think they were hoping for a Firm-esque thing here, one got that feeling from the previews. I was discussing the possible plot with a friend before having seen it and he was speculating on a sequence that might go something like, "Gee, thanks for the Porsche....what's this? I have to drink blood? Ewwww." Well, he was pretty close.

BUT. You had to know there was a "but" in here somewhere. So help me, I was entertained. There are days when, forgive me, I don't want to think too hard. It's sort of comforting, sometimes, to know that a movie is going to have the appropriately shaky camera shots during the tense scenes, and the music will swell ominously at just the precise moment.

You know yourself, and you know the movies you like. Then there are times, hopefully, when you allow yourself to sit there and be entertained, pure and simple, without apologies. On a different day, in another frame of mind, The Skulls might have really really irritated me. So, I gave some, but not all of my critical self the day off in a manner of speaking.

The acting is OK, it compliments the New Coke attitude of the script. Joshua Jackson is likable, and Paul Walker is moderately interesting as the spoiled heir-to-the-throne Caleb. You get to see Craig T. Nelson as a mean, creepy guy instead of the bumbling confused Coach character you see now on reruns. The most interesting performance is that of William Petersen who plays a U.S. Senator that is in the Skulls organization.

The camera work is predictable but still fun. The soundtrack is pretty cool, which is sometimes the only reason movies like this aren't immediately forgotten. However, there is nothing riveting or conflicting enough to keep you glued to your seat.

You know what you like. Sometimes you're in the mood for something different. Sometimes you're in the mood for something ridiculous in the hopes of being entertained.

The Skulls is obviously based on the society at Yale known as the Skulls and Bones Society of which the Bush's are perhaps the most famous members. This is of course a hollywood move and not a documentary so dont take it too serious. It is however a highly entertaining movie with a fairly descent plot. The straight to video sequel is dismal at best.

I recommend this movie to anyone considering joining a frat and/or is between the ages of 18-27. Rob Cohen does an excellent job in attempting to portray what goes on inside the walls of the "Skulls" secret society. The Skulls - a highly powerful secret society - provide third year college students with expensive cars, girls, and powerful ties...an enormous key to future political power. The lucky members chosen each year at midnight (approx. 15 ?) must go through intense hazing and rituals dating back to the early 1800's. Each prospective member unites with another to become soul mates. Each pair of soul mates tell each other their darkest secrets to become closer and to ensure loyalty in the most defying situation.

In the movie, Luke (Joshua Jackson) demonstrates how joining the Skulls has placed tension on his friendship with Chloe (Leslie Bibb) and his roommate (Hill Harper). Sworn to keep the happenings of the Skulls a secret, the line between friendship and loyalty to the Skulls becomes very thin. Luke son learns that the Skulls are not only watching his every move, but they monitor his close friend Chloe as well...

-A must see for college students!

The Skulls is a well-paced and well-acted thriller. Joshua Jackson is Luke McNamara. An Ivy League college student who isn't doing to well with paying his tuition. To certify his place in completing college and have a successful future, he wants in with the Skulls. An intermediate group of young men who are guaranteed anything they want in life. After getting in, Luke's life begins to fall apart as his best friend is murdered and his girlfriend is on the run. Should Luke trust the secret society and his new friend Caleb, or try to get out of the society alive?

The Skulls, for some reason, gives me an at-home feeling. I kind of relate to each character in a way, and that shows that each actor gave a pretty good performance. Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, and Leslie Bibb shine as the leads. Craig T. Nelson also gives a nice performance. The plot and pacing of The Skulls is excellent. The scenes meant to be intense are just that, and scenes meant to be heartfelt and fun are just that too.

The DVD isn't loaded, but it's pretty note worthy to any fan of the movie. A commentary is given by director Bob Cohen. I actually found this quiet entertaining as Cohen explains concepts of the movie and other things. There are a few deleted scenes with commentary by Cohen. It is seen why these were cut. There's also a Making Of featurette that works mostly as a promo spot. To round it up are the theatrical trailer and some very interesting production notes.

For any fan of the movie or its stars, this DVD is a must have and a must keep.

This movie is a joke. IT's not a movie to make you feel anger, but definitely is a bad production. The plot is so full of holes I could not believe it! Acting is poor from beginning to end ( it's sad to see McDonald, one of the actors from "THELMA & LOUISE", in it ). The funniest part is to know that the "SKULLS" are highly secret. But the new recruited students accepted into it each receives a brand new Porsche, Ferrari, Thunderbird or whatever !!! Second funniest part is to know that the society is so well-organized that their leaders keeps a tape showing a cold murder is the same place and manner as all the others surveillance tapes they have !!! The duel sequnce in the end almos made me laugh, I thought it was a comedy. As for Joshua Jackson acting, forget it...

In the dark halls once walked by ancient members of secret societies, one group in particular stands out and has survived and prospered...The Skulls. This opening introduction should have been a clue as to how absurdly dramatic this movie would be.

Director Rob Cohen (Daylight, Fast & The Furious) has never been able to pull any gem from the movies he makes with the only exception being Dragon, The Bruce Lee Story. Instead, he usually creates moderately entertaining movies that try so hard to be more than they are. This was the last dramatic movie he made before moving into the even more flashy flair of The Fast & The Furious.

The Skulls starts out promising, with good characters trying to deal with their real life and school. One in particular, Lucas McNamara, played by Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek fame, is trying hard to make something of himself, despite his poor roots and semi-criminal childhood. He does well but mostly plays a similar character to what he played on DC. Paul Walker, playing Caleb Mandrake, stands out showing some real emotion as the conflicted rich kid who befriends Lucas and battles his own conscious throughout the movie. You find yourself liking him, despite his `take no responsibility' personality.

The real downfall of the movie is simply the switch in direction from Lucas' journey into sudden wealth and opportunity, to murder mystery. I think it would have been more instresting to see Lucas work his way into the society and find he is nothing like these people, and either find a way to use the Skulls abilities for good purposes. William L. Peterson, always good, plays Senator Levritt, who states this to Lucas early in the movie. This sounded like a promising start to the intrigue that could follow the young man who has never known what it's like to be rich or to have the ability to wield such power.

But alas, the movie falls into bleak territory and barely digs it's way out. All in all, it's an entertaining movie of power, secret society rules superceding the law and discovery of a person's own moral code. A good combination that was clumsily executed but is still good on most levels.

This movie stinks. I mean, it really does. It is a bad WB television movie gone wrong. The actors seem to know this also.

Do not buy this. Rent it if you'd like..but you have been warned.

As a big fan of both Joshua Jackson and Paul Walker, The Skulls was almost too good to be true. I have seen it so many times, I kow it by heart! Jakcsons character, Lucas MacNamera, is a lower cless student at an Ivy league School, who one day gets accepted into a Secret Society called the Skulls. Caleb Mandrake, Walker's Character, is a rich student attending the same university who meets Luke due to fate and they become instant buds. For the first time, Luke's life is going great, but when his best friend Will suddenly appears dead, he knows it has somethinng to do with the Skulls, and then he realizes, if they could give him that much, imagine what they could take away! I really loved the plot, because it just kept getting thicker and thicker, and the intense subject matter was lightened once in a while by witty one-liners. I enjoyed it very much, but I would not recommend it for younger viewers.

I rented this film hoping to learn more about the secret society, Skull and Bones (or just Skulls for this film). We don't get to see much, other than some lame initiation rite and a brief ballroom dance party where beautiful ladies are merely there for the decoration as they are introduced to the new initiates. What follows is a second rate formula film to unravel the mystery of who's behind the coverup of the murder in the Skulls ritual room. I was nearly bored to tears. The only good things about this film were the music and the scene when Joshua Jackson's character flips out, accusing a police officer of switching the videotape to cover up the conspiracy. He did a great job in that scene, but the rest of the film seriously needed some work. After I finished watching it, I felt like the makers of this movie didn't know enough about the Skulls to really write and produce a stellar movie. I wanted to learn more about what a membership in Skulls means to people, besides having beautiful women thrown at them, sports cars of their dreams, and $100,000 checks made out to each member once they are officially part of the brotherhood. I wanted to know more about the tension between Mandrake and the Senator, as well as Mandrake and his own son. This film just glosses over it to move the plot along, and what you get is a snoozefest with marginal acting and story. If anything, this film does a service to secret societies, because people will walk away after viewing this film that there's nothing to worry about if members of our government and Wall Street are in the brotherhood. I hope a more serious film about the social impact of secret societies and its rituals will be made someday, and that such a script/story won't be sacrificed for the purpose of fitting the standard formula of the suspense drama. Skulls could have used a lot more suspense. Because of the mediocrity of this film, I won't even bother to watch any of its sequels. If it couldn't be done right the first time, there's no point in repeating the same formula with different casts.

The primary purpose of The Skulls is to give viewers and inside look at the lives of the influential power brokers who rule the world clandestinely through politics, nepotism, college admission grandfather clauses, and most importantly secret societies. Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) - roommate to snoopy school reporter Will (Hill Harper) - is one of the lucky few tapped to become a member of The Skulls, a prestigious and exclusive organization at his college. Paired with Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker), the son of the current chairman, the two go through initiation (the cookie scene is conspicuously absent) and discover the political and power struggles within the organization, and lengths to which some might go to maintain control, are potentially life threatening.

Secondary to the synopsis, however, The Skulls provides the viewer with four immutable truths.

One, Joshua Jackson will never outlive his Pacey Witter role on Dawson's Creek. It is difficult to start your career as second fiddle to James Van Der Beek and live it down. It's reminiscent of the old farmer story, where he does wonderful things lifelong, various philanthropic endeavors, and feels he doesn't deserve the nickname he's been given when caught one fateful night in a barn with a farm animal. Some things can't be forgotten.

Two, it provides the first meaningful and noticeable film time for the beautiful Leslie Bibb's (Ricky Bobby's wife on Talledega Nights). She exudes confidence, sexiness, compassion, and timing that helps a movie that is slow moving at times move along flawlessly.

Three, societies like the Skull and Bones portrayed in this movie are irritatingly secretive. Told through the lens of a Skulls' benefits (i.e. money, women, fame, power), the insider's point of view only enhances the feeling many feel towards the members and the head start in life they are given. On the other hand, we also see the converse of the media, who bring with them nosiness, pushiness, and sometimes illegality. Many in the press misconstrue their rights believing how they get the story inconsequential, their scoop superseding the law.

Four, the most stone cold lock of this movie is Paul Walker's character. He is unequivocally the best privileged, silver spoon, son of a doctor/lawyer/congressman, actor there is in Hollywood. Nobody else since Keanu Reeves can pull off the slack-jawed, glassy-eyed, happy to be here, "Aw Shucks" of which Paul is capable. It wouldn't surprise me if he were an honorary member of a secret society on looks alone.

Along with Craig T. Nelson and William Peterson, the cast is superb, especially considering how this movie was received. All other aspects are equally enjoyable, right down to the last confrontation and application of archaic society rules. Well thought out, clever and suspenseful at times, the production values are top notch. I actually enjoyed this movie more than most.

Jason Elin