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Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Tcheky Karyo, Olivier Martinez, Gena Rowlands ... see more see more... , Jean-Hugues Anglade , Kiefer Sutherland , Paul Dano , David Eisner , Vince Grant , Billy Two Rivers , André Lacoste , Art Bedard , Dominique Briand , Julien Poulin , Emmanuel Bilodeau , Alex Sol , Christian Tessier , Marie-Josée Croze , Henry Pardo , Justin Chatwin , Brett Watson , Andy Bradshaw , Lois Dellar , Richard Lemire , Brigitte Bedard , Shawn Roberts , Martin Brisebois , Gabriel Charland-Gagné , Nathalie Matteu , Hugh Probyn , Fabiano Amato , Anne Marineau , Eugenio "Kiko" Osorio , Jesus Alejandro Nino , Lisandro Martinez , Sandra Campanelli , Freddy Bessa , Steven Wallace Lowe , Marcel Jeannin , Paul Chatwin

A female detective on the trail of a psychotic killer discovers love in a dangerous time in this thriller, based on the novel by Michael Pye. Illeana Scott (Angelina Jolie) is a special agent with the... read more read more... FBI who has a reputation for using offbeat methods, but also boasts a strong record as a criminal profiler. Scott is called in by a former Quantico colleague (Tcheky Karyo) to assist two Canadian police detectives, Paquette (Olivier Martinez) and Duval (Jean-Hugues Anglade), who are on the trail of a serial killer who has been doing business in and around Montreal for close to two decades. The murderer has a history of assimilating many aspects of the lives of his victims after he kills them, but there's been a witness to his most recent crime. Art gallery owner James Costa (Ethan Hawke) saw the killer during an assault, and now finds himself working as an only marginally willing decoy for Scott. As Scott and Costa follow the killer's trail, they find themselves becoming attracted to one another, which is not necessarily a comfort to Scott as she finds her quarry moving closer and closer. Taking Lives also stars Kiefer Sutherland and Gena Rowlands. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

61% liked it

67,236 ratings

Critics

22% liked it

157 critics

R, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: D.J. Caruso, Tony Scott

Release Date: March 19, 2004

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DVD Release Date: August 17, 2004

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Stats: 3,092 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,092)

  • fb1463751009
    March 9, 2012
    fb1463751009
    Angelina Jolie strips for like no reason. horrible movie.
  • Deano78
    June 11, 2011
    Deano78
    A decent enough thriller if nothing new, or groundbreaking. Doesn't deserve the slating it has got from some though?? I enjoy thrillers and the tracking of a serial killer type. It has a few jumpy moments, although the plot is a bit predictable. Still enjoyable to watch.
  • wildaly14
    February 1, 2011
    wildaly14
    I was confused about the whole film and then the end confused me even more.
  • ythelastman89
    January 6, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Not the best crime/thriller ever, but had it come out about a decade beforehand it would have gotten a lot more positive responses. It's a really interesting story with great characters. Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke clearly gave the movie a more polished look and really made it... read more charming as well as suspenseful. I really admired the movie for keeping you on your toes.
  • liquidchick76
    June 25, 2009
    liquidchick76
    I think they tried to be shocking, but they couldn't have been more predictable.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    June 19, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "He would kill to be you."

    An FBI profiler is called in by French Canadian police to catch a serial killer who takes on the identity of each new victim.

    REVIEW

    There's nothing particularly... read more bad about Taking Lives - at least if there was a cement mixer somewhere to fill in the plot holes. In many ways it's an above average thriller about a serial killer being hunted by lovely FBI agent Angelina Jolie, who manages to be far more alluring than any FBI agent has the right to be. There's several shocks worthy of making you jump out of your seat, a generous and tasty smattering of gruesome body parts, a car chase, explosion and some nudity. It's main flaw perhaps is that it goes on far too long, and our suspension of disbelief is teetering too precariously for comfort. The basic premise is that the serial killer escapes detection by taking on the identity of his victims. We get some very brief overview shots suggesting how he maybe achieves this from a technical point of view, but when the expected twist at the end outstays its welcome in a very extended coda involving Jolie saving the day by 'dazzling insight' into the killer's mind that soon looks too much like a writer's fantasy: it is then that we start asking ourselves if the main plot was actually believable. Entertaining enough if your expectations aren't too high, but one does wonder when Angelina Jolie is going to take on roles worthy of her not inconsiderable acting ability after this.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    June 14, 2009
    LoughnerWasLucid
    i could see the ending coming even before i could see Kiefer Sutherlands gonna be bald in 6 years.
  • FiLmCrAzY
    April 24, 2009
    FiLmCrAzY
    i like this movie its got a great storyline well acted and twists and turns with a fantastic ending and really worth a watch as its nothing you would expect really worth a watch
  • jlewis07
    October 29, 2008
    jlewis07
    Needed a recasting I think. Jolie was fine, but Sutherland was massively underused and could have easily done a better job than Ethan Hawke. To say more would give the plot away. The movie is a retread and not original in hardly any ways, but the ending came as a surprise to me s... read moreo it gets points for that. Otherwise, its the same stuff you have seen before, over and over again. It had potential if, like I said, the actors were switched or possibly replaced.
  • fb619846742
    August 18, 2008
    fb619846742
    Not dark enough nor original enough to make it worth a look. Hawke is superb in a movie that relies solely on a big twist ending (that fails gigantically), ruining a slam-bang of an opening that proved it had potential to be good, but its one-dimensional characters and tenseless ... read moreplot take a big toll.

View All Taking Lives Reviews

Critic Reviews

Peter Travers
March 25, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

If you can buy the pillow-lipped Angelina Jolie as a psychic FBI agent in Montreal to hunt a serial killer, then you can swallow the other implausibilities in this retread thriller.

Charles Taylor
March 21, 2004
Charles Taylor, Salon.com

Jolie is far too good for this tripe but she does give the film its only believable moments, and for the first half, her concentration makes you watch her intently. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
March 19, 2004
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Nosedive it does, abandoning all pretense of style and eccentricity for at-times laughable predictability.

Desson Thomson
March 19, 2004
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Would have to work nights to reach mediocrity.

Malene Arpe
March 19, 2004
Malene Arpe, Toronto Star

While not breaking any new ground, director D.J. Caruso's movie also doesn't disappoint. Full Review

David Edelstein
March 19, 2004
David Edelstein, Slate

Caruso is a much more resourceful director than this material deserves, but I resented being two steps ahead of the genius profiler and the genius serial-killer. Full Review

Carla Meyer
March 19, 2004
Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle

To buy this picture, you have to buy Jolie's character, and the actress succeeds much of the time. But once her contained, job-obsessed agent gets involved with a man close to her case, much of what c... Full Review

Joe Baltake
March 19, 2004
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Taking Lives is a good, near-great film that might seem a lot better if it hadn't been preceded by all of those Judd vehicles -- or if Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling never existed. Full Review

Jay Boyar
March 19, 2004
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel

While it's not in a league with The Silence of the Lambs, it works in a similarly efficient way. Full Review

Lisa Rose
March 19, 2004
Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger

Just as the central criminal steals the identity of his victims, Taking Lives lifts traits and style from other movies. Both do so relatively successfully, until they bungle the job in the final half-... Full Review

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Taking Lives Trivia

  • Which actress is in the following: *A Sharks Tale *Taking Lives *Girl Interrupted *Mr and Mrs Smith  Answer »
  • Which Movie Does Not Star Clive Owen?  Answer »
  • Name the film which stars- Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke and Kiefer Sutherland?  Answer »
  • Name the actor who roled in "Taking Lives" "Dead Heat" "Paradise Found" and "Phone Booth"  Answer »
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