4.7!!! Why don't people appreciate this awesome movie?! - Abandon (2002) Discussion

[–] psychy 20 years ago

I agree with you somewhat. Abandon is a great movie, although not one of the
best movies I've ever watched, it still was a great movie worth watching. I do
not agree with the review posted IMDB's main Abandon page because unless you're
an expert on the art of movie direction, you will not be able to tell that
Katie is the killer. I didn't figure out that Katie did it until literally a
minute before she kills Handler. She just plays this innocent college girl so
well that you wouldn't think of the obvious answer in the back of your head
that she was indeed the killer. You watch all those trailers and promos for the
movie and all you see is Embry stalking Katie. Immediately you're convinced
that Embry is the "bad guy" because the trailers convince you of that so well.
I think that was intended to purposely make you think that Embry is the one and
only bad guy in the whole course of the movie. Heck, I was more suspicious of
Handler bein the killer than Katie because of the way he always snuck around
campus and was sort of stalking Katie in a way. I think I was just thinking of
her Dawson's Creek character while watching this movie which was a bad thing to
do, I admit. Still, this movie was a great movie and I was very surprized with
the revelation that Katie killed Embry and then was horrified that Katie then
proceeded to kill Handler. I was so expecting a semi-happy ending at least with
Handler having a big showdown with Embry, boy was I wrong. I have the DVD and I
plan on watching this again. With movies like this, you can watch the movie a
second time and have a totally different perspective on it. You can look at
Katie in a totally different way and watch the movie in a different light. I
probably would give this movie a 7. It just barely misses the 8 mark because of
a few minor problems which are understandable for a first time director. Still,
a 7 is what it gets, I stick by my score and the fact that this is in no way a
bad movie or a "movie you should avoid at all costs" as some people like to
overexaggerate. C'mon people, just because a movie isn't perfect doesn't mean
it's a bad movie.

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[–] christian123 20 years ago

Wow you must be really bored to write out a long description like that. A 7 did we watch the saem movie Abandon was terrible the 4.7 is being generous.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] MajorlySilly45 20 years ago

Abandon is a very smart movie in my opinion, but as a thriller, not quite thrilling. Well-acted, and well-written and once again, very intelligent, but it still is boring at times.

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[–] Sansico 20 years ago

I just saw Abandon last week..It's not the worst film,but it's not the best either..For some reason i thought it was a bit long,and 'not quite thrilling'..
(i hope it's ok that used that quote MajorlySilly,but i couldn't say it better myself.)

Is it getting better or do you feel the same?
I support tha ABFA

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[–] TiNiSyNS 19 years ago

I agree the movie is horrible. I love Ben Bratt but the person he he played in the movie got what he deserve. You're so suppose to be a police office or detective not a lover. Most of the cop movies he do he ends up falling for the girl. GET BETTER ROLLS. And why was he the only detective. The movie is unrealistic. Also for Katie Holmes sorry but she not good actress. Maybe is someone else played her part but it would be more believable. Also many parents abandon they children said but true and I dont they use that excuse to go crazy.

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[–] danila_1 20 years ago

Thanks for spoiling the ending, you a55hole!

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[–] xalabam 20 years ago

yes i agree with you "thanks for spoling the ending you a55hole"

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[–] courtjes 19 years ago

Thanks for telling us the plot without pointing out spoilers. You shouldnt be allowed to post on these boards. I watched about ten minutes of the movie and then checked out imdb and there you are: ruining the ending.

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[–] psychy 19 years ago

Considering that this thread was about how this movie was rated then one would stop to think that the people that rated the movie actually watched the movie from beginning to end. Someone with enough common sense would've realized this and would've avoided reading this thread if they haven't completed watching the movie yet. Maybe if I had started this thread I would've added *SPOILER ALERT* somewhere in the subject heading. If we had *SPOILER ALERT* posted about a hundred times per thread then that would be pretty distracting don't you think? So don't private message me calling me "inconsiderate" (you know who you are).

"Sense a Split Second. Treasure the Life, Have Goddess on Your Wings."

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[–] davehamer 18 years ago

I just started reading this thread about 10 minutes before the *twist* and unfortunately you gave away the whole plot :(

Spoiler Alert would have been nice if you're going to give away the whole thing - infact, you could even have just posted that you didn't "guess the ending till 1 minute away" instead of giving away the whole damn thing :(

Your input was good, but be more curteous to others in future.

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[–] tassmasta 18 years ago

You have to realize that by coming here and reading about it 10 minutes before the movie ends you're pretty much going out of your way to ruin the ending for yourself. People aren't gonna say "SPOILER SPOILER" everytime they want to discuss a movie. You have to use common sense and know these things will be discussed. What you're upset about is similar to a person going to a strip club and getting offended cuz there's naked people walkin around.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] sunnygirl10901 20 years ago

I agree! I never check IMDB.com before I see a movie, because I don't want preconceived notions. I only check if I know its great, or its really unknown. I didn't expect this to be good, because of the premise and the cast. It's not that Katie Holmes isn't good, but she's usually a "teen actress". She was very good in this.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] Rosejewel2336 20 years ago

Your name suggests you're not exactly objective.

I think I must have been Hitler in my last life because this one sucks.

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] somemoviesilike 20 years ago

I'm afraid I did find it predictable, but sorta in a good way. I was thinking half way through that this would be a gd setup to have (what happens at the end) happen, which is good, because it's not the usual way these films end. Therefore I was not really surprised when the conclusion resulted the way it did. On the other hand, most of the rest of the film was pretty awful, and they didn't even handle that ending well. Katie Holmes is worth watching though. A clear 5 / 10 film. (6 perhaps on a generous day, but, well, I'm not feeling generous.)

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[–] getfuzzy 20 years ago

I really enjoyed this movie. I think the reason alot of ppl don't like it is it IS slow, but not as bad as some ppl think, unless you're expecting the usual thriller pacing. it's really more of a thriller-drama, but there's some great comic relief too. I think Zooey Deschanel's character really adds some great humor to the whole thing. I think she's a real bright spot in this movie. The ending caught me completely off-guard, as I think it did alot of ppl.

I think its a really good movie, well written, great acting, cool slow build up, and no holes in the story like most thrillers these days, plus a great and unusual twist at the end.

i'd agree with the 7 rating though in the end. definitely not a waste of time and im surprised how many ppl really don't like this movie.

in short: if you're more of an action fan, and a happy ending fan, you're likely to be disappointed.

"I'm packin' Smacky!" - Bucky

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[–] JoanTheVampireSlayer 20 years ago

I thought it was a little boring at times but it certainly did not deserve the 4.7 rating that it got. I thought the actors did a great job in this movie and the directing and writing was also done well. However, based on it's genre, I don't think it performed well as a "thriller." I was very surprised by the ending though. I wouldn't call it a predictable ending. I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

"Sup wit da wack playstation, sup?" - Joey

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[–] us3 20 years ago

I fell asleep during buts of this film. I felt no connection to the characters and even the so-called twist didn't do anything for me. It was a waste of time. 4.7 is too much. It deserves a 2. This movie was a trainsmash.

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[–] ruthierocks 20 years ago

I was disappointed. The trailer very misleading, I had no reason to care for the characters, and even I saw the twist coming. I didn't know she'd killed him, but I did figure that he was a figment of her imagination and that he didn't just leave.. I don't know.. the acting was good, the direction was awesome, but the script was flawed. I could have been so much better.

:~)

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[–] XLiniAnn 19 years ago

I would say this movie was good, different, entertaining. The acting was good... I love Ben Bratt, he is much under appreciated and wish he would do more!

I did'nt see the twist coming, but when the handwriting expert told Ben that the note had been written over 2 years ago... I kinda suspect something was up...

It could of been more creepier... and I wish the love story (so to speak) would of come on a little earlier... It could of been more "steamer"... I think they had great chemistry!

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[–] missyblue 19 years ago

the acting was ok but my fav character was by far Embry himself. about 15 mins into the movie i knew he was dead. the fact that Katie was the only 1 who was seeing him and the fact that he wore the same clothes evey time helped hint that. it dissapointed me in that aspect bc he seemed like a very fasinating character. 4.7 is generous. the fact that she turns out to be the killer and then kill the cop is somewhat a cheap-skate(sp!). it seemed a bit 2dimensional. awesome movie?!? good heavens!

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[–] conace21 19 years ago

Not a great movie, but I sure didn't see the twist coming. I think this was a great role for Katie Holmes to break out of her Joey Potter-typecast.
I just watched the movie for the 2nd time, and knowing what REALLY happened, it was kind of cool to see all the signs, pointing to it along the way. It is also easier to keep the flashbacks straight. If you're watching it for the 1st time, it gets damn confusing... e.g. is this scene with Embry from 2 years ago, or in the present?

I'll give it a 6, but with a little editing-like that damn party scene where they're on the bed-, it could easily be an 8.

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[–] LeninsTomb94 19 years ago

Movie was okay til Katie Holmes sleeps with Bratte, then it sucks. 3/10

And the guy from "Cheers and Jeers", and hes already given out all hes cheers!

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[–] VCR 19 years ago

I didn't vote yet, but this movie was very predictable and cheesy at times. I would give it a 4.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] picuco9 19 years ago

I agree, this movie deserves a better rating. I think the main problem comes from horrible marketing which produced wrong expectations; and a boring script. Academy Award Winner Stephen Gaghan wrote this... what a bore! He may be good in adapted 'Traffic' so well, I don't know why he couldn't adapt Sean Desmond's 'Adam's Fall' the same way!

However, the movie has ALOT of good things. Katie Holmes CAN act, believe me, this is good acting. Charlie and Ben are also good. But what I liked the most about the movie was the music and cinematography. This is a beautiful color and sound montage extraordinaire. If you're studying cinematography, editing watch this. If you like simple who-done-it storytelling, whatch it.
If you like good art direction, see it. If you like just plain good general direction, skip it.

7/10

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[–] brumaoxidada 19 years ago

you are soooooooooo right in wht u saying , but the only thing u were wrong was when u gave the movie a 9 it is 10!!!!! defenetly a 10 , abandon is the best movie ever!!! i mean??? who could imagen that katie was the killer , jezzz i love that movie!!

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[–] first_jabberwocky 19 years ago

people don't appreciate it because it sucks. the only part that made me jump was when the guy popped out in the library. other than that, it made no sense. im my opinion.

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