Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3.2 Stars, February 27, 2007
When I saw the preview for NUMBER 23, I thought it was going to be a great film. The concept of the number 23 being part of some global conspiracy is a great idea for a mystery thriller. Also, Jim Carrey has done a great job of choosing roles that display the full range of his acting talents, not just ones that show his comic prowess and I was looking forward to seeing him in a mystery thriller film. But instead of a mystery thriller, I saw a hacked up film that barely qualifies as a mystery, has no thrills, and very little suspense.
Carrey portrays Walter Sparrow, and older man married to a younger woman named Agatha (Virginia Madsen) who works in a bakery. Walter works as an animal control specialist. Apparently Walter's job isn't all that exciting, but it is something he enjoys doing. At the end of the work day on his birthday, he gets bitten by a stray dog. He chases the dog until he looses him in a cemetery. The incident causes Walter to be late meeting his wife for dinner, which leads her to browsing a used bookstore, where she finds a self-published book about the number 23 that she buys for Walter as a gift. Apparently Walter was so late that Agatha was able to read the entire book while waiting for him. Walter must be a slow reader because it takes him over a week before he finishes it at the end of which time he finds himself going slightly insane, seeing the number 23 everywhere he goes and having dreams about murdering his wife. All reading and no play seems to make Walter a dull boy. Is Walter really going insane? Or is the book actually part of a larger story that Walter has become involved in? Dum, dum, dum, dum, DUM! (Look what I did, onomatopoeia and foreshadowing combined!).
I was really disappointed by NUMBER 23. The concept is so interesting and could be made into a great movie, but NUMBER 23 isn't it. Jim Carrey does a great job of playing both Walter Sparrow and the character of Fingerling from the novel, but he's not given much of a story to work with. Either is the lovely Virginia Madsen. She plays two roles, too, but neither has any real depth. In fact, none of the characters are very developed at all. Sometimes that's okay in a mystery suspense film, but not if you don't have much of a story to work with.
I will give the filmmakers credit, though. There are many people who will not like the ending of the film and even though I was disappointed, I'm glad they tried to bring closure to the whole story. Many times in mystery-thriller and suspense the films end ambiguously with no closure. As my parents used to say, "That's a dumb ending." NUMBER 23 doesn't have a dumb ending. Instead, it has a middle that doesn't make any sense. I'd most like to see a film that makes sense all or at least most of the way through, but given a mindless middle or a dumb ending I think I would rather take the dumb ending.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good cast, lousy script, July 25, 2007
Too bad Schumacher had to go and waste the talents of Carrey and Madsen in this dreck. Poorly written scripts never, ever make good movies. Too many coincidences, too many things that should have been obvious to the character, too much reliance on editing and coloring instead of on plot.
And the ending, with a person figuring out repressed memories--ooh, how original is that? What a cliche. How could a horror movie be so dull? Too bad.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure mind-bending entertainment! Caution: This movie might make a few of you use your head..., July 29, 2007
First off, with all of the lousy reviews this movie is generating, I have got to ask this question to you all-Did we both view the same film as one another? I was absolutely amazed by this film. Granted, I will admit that I am a big Jim Carrey fan, however I don't like and enjoy all of his movies(Eternal Sunshine, The Cable Guy to name a few). But I feel he did an applaudable job with this role. I don't feel the need to tell you about the plot and synopsis of this movie, as I am sure most are already aware of the generalization of this motion picture. But with all of the negative comments I am reading from alot of people, I am just curious to what really keeps you entertained for a good 1 1/2-2 hours. Is your attention span too short to stay focused long enough to get the gist of the story? Granted, this movie might take a couple viewings to fully understand it and appreciate it(I had to rewind a few parts to pick up on the little subtleties), but it is well worth it. And the actual ending is a very nice way of closing the film, as the whole book Carey is reading(The Number 23....Duh!) is explained, and how his life is reflected in it is fully and finally understood and revealed. It's a real head scratcher at first, but is fully appreciated after you grasp the full understanding and concept of it all. Beautifully directed by Joel Schumacher, and brilliant performances by Carey and cast(who knew he could actually do anything other than comedy so naturally) make this a very memorable movie and well worth picking up. If you are still skeptical on purchasing this movie then at least do yourself a favor and rent it. I hope to see Carey casted in more films like this in the future. Very well done! You will not be disappointed!
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