Panic Room

I thought I would explore a conundrum of sorts. Very rarely do the critics give a higher ranking than the community on RT.  I think the critics got it right with this one. This movie was great the first time I saw it, but watching it the other night for only the second time, it came off way more intense than the first time. Maybe it's because I've got kids now, and I can fully understand how Jodie Foster's character felt. Helpless. It's not bad enough she is locked in her own panic room, and doesn't know why, but her daughter (Bella Swan age 13) is a diabetic, and without insulin it could go from bad to worse. When three assailants break into Meg's (Foster) newly purchased home, they are after something not even the new owner knows exists. Fortunately the previous owners paranoia came in handy. Handy in the form of one sweet panic room. Meg and her daughter quickly enter the room before the robbers could. What sucked was when she realizes what they want is in that room. She can't come out for fear of what they might do to them, and they won't leave without the large amount of money supposedly in the room. She is able to leave twice, but only once without consequence. Both scenes were to retrieve different items very necessary to their survival and both times she exits, my heart was a pounding. Good directing and great acting really deliver it home. Forest Whitaker. A brilliant actor that earned his Oscar with all the time and effort he put into harnessing his skills playing the character actor in almost every film. Panic Room was not gonna win an Oscar. It probably was not even mentioned in any category, but the way Forest delivers his lines with such conviction as his always does no matter the role. A great American actor who's career will continue to expand, and will probably grow old in our living rooms much like Morgan Freeman has. Jared Leto does a good job at playing the prick with the plan, but Dwight "Combover" Yoakam really knocks it out of the park. He plays the masked villain. He is ruthless and unrelenting when it comes to what he wants. It turns really ugly when the score turns out to be much larger than anticipated. One last thing. The Insulin scene where her daughter is crashing and she is outside the room, but the bad guys or suddenly inside the room, she throws the medical bag in the room as the door is closing. Then it turns into a hope and pray game, because she must beg and rely on these criminals to have a soul and give her daughter the shot. Crazy Intense and superbly done.

NBM rates Panic Room - Phenomenal

Buy Your Copy Today