FRACTURE **½

Director Gregory Hoblit has been a TV producer/director for years and has a few theatrical features under his belt. The big star power in this feature is Anthony Hopkins, with Ryan Gosling and Rosamund Pike costarring.

If you watch any TV at all you've seen plenty of previews for this film and know the basic story. Hopkins is an engineer who's wife is having an affair. Since he fancies himself smarter than everyone else, he takes this as a personal affront and decides to kill her. Before doing so, he carefully prepares what he's going to do so he can escape the consequences of his action. Gosling is a public prosecutor with a stellar conviction record on his way to a cushy job with a major law firm where Pike is employed. The story is a cat and mouse legal affair between Hopkins and Gosling.

While this movie has its momenta, it isn't as good as it should be. The pace is slower than necessary which lowers the film's tension. While Hopkins is excellent as usual, Gosling simply isn't in his league as an actor and it shows. Pike is nice to look at but her character is never really developed and the relationship between her and Gosling isn't really believable. The method Hopkins uses to escape justice isn't immediately obvious and you'll have to think a bit in order to discover it before it's explained. The ending is satisfactory although a little abrupt. If you prefer to wait, the DVD will be just fine for this film.