Solace (2015)

IMDb

Trailer

A psychic works with the FBI to hunt down a serial killer.

Even if the marketing feels a little too polished and "Hollywood" for my taste, I am genuinely hooked on this one! I can't help but wonder if they cast Farrell because of the current buzz surrounding True Detective, or if they’re just leaning on Hopkins as that seasoned veteran who pretty much carries any movie he’s in on his back—I don't know! Either way, I am totally sold. I want to watch this right now. Like, seriously, immediately.

It feels like one of those classic movie tropes where you've got a brilliant killer playing cat and mouse with a detective team (Hopkins and his crew) until they finally catch him (Farrell).

I was watching the trailer and noticed Bardem, and then there's this other guy who looks just like him later on. Talk about a resemblance.

vivideagle7 said:To me feels like your textbook cliché setup where we watch a brilliant detective (Hopkins and his crew) try to outsmart a genius killer (Farrell).

Watching the trailer, I noticed Bardem, and then later there's this other guy who looks almost identical to him. Talk about a resemblance!

Honestly, just having some polished, high-end production value isn't going to save the movie if the story is thin. Because of that, my only real hopes for this one are seeing the dynamic between Hopkins / Farrell play out and maybe... just MAYBE... catching a few moments of truly brilliant dialogue between them.

Honestly, they’re the main reason I’m even interested in watching this. With those two involved, there's a real chance it could turn out to be a great movie.

Honestly, I didn't care for it at all.

Just like I called it earlier, this felt way too superficial for my taste, especially with how thin the character development was. Look, I get it—in movies like this, you basically have to toss logic out the window because, let's be real, you have two characters playing a constant game of cat and mouse where they both know exactly what the other is thinking. Sorry, but Minority Report did it better... Dead Zone beat this one... heck, even a mediocre chess match would have more tension.

But let's break it down... if you've actually read or watched Red Dragon or Manhunter, yeah, everything starts to fall apart the moment Dr. Lecter swaps roles with Will Graham. What that really means is that Hopkins is back here essentially playing a variation of the character that made him a legend, while everyone else—unlike the lambs we see in those stories...—feels like they're just passing through. It's such a shame! Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a fantastic actor, and Abbie Cornish, much like Michelle Monaghan, is a talented actress who really needs a meaty role to truly shine (Trucker (2008.) anyone?). As for Farrell, his character is so wasted; without giving away too many spoilers, the pacing for his arc is just a total disaster. When you combine that with a terrible script, you're looking at an inevitable train wreck.

At the end of the day, I personally wanted so much more from these characters, particularly from Hopkins and Farrell. I kept imagining how intense it would be to live with a certain... "gift," or whatever you want to call it, but the movie fails to give us any insight into that from any perspective. They sacrificed deep character arcs and a potentially brilliant story for some mindless thriller action that wouldn't have been half as bad if the director hadn't opted for those frantic cuts, that loud and grating soundtrack every time there's a flashback or a plot twist, and all those unnecessary chase scenes, and so on and so forth.

In all honesty, it’s a massive waste of potential. The only reason to sit through it is that it never gets boring and it features a really solid cast.

Dennis Ramirez53 really nailed that. Such a shame about the cast though...
Watching this felt like having a 50-pound weight sitting on my chest the whole time.
The soundtrack was especially annoying.
It’s hard not to compare movies like this to classics like *The Godfather* or *Seven*... Even if it's not quite black and white, you finish the movie and just feel absolutely nothing for any of the characters...
I wouldn't recommend giving this one a watch.