Fate (2003)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Michael Pare and Philip Michael Thomas are cops hunting a serial killer in a film that also stars Lee Majors in a really good performance.This is a middle of the road thriller that suffers from an uneven cast. Its not that anyone is bad, its just that some people care more than others. Lee Majors is clearly trying to do his best (he does), Michael Pare is fine but some people, Especially Phillip Michael Thomas very clearly don't want to be involved in the proceedings and doing little more than showing up to get a pay check. Its a shame since the the murder mystery at it center could actually have been something to remember and recommend. As it is its an okay thriller thats like anyone of several dozen like minded thrillers. Worth a look if you happen upon it, but nothing I'd hunt for.

I have seen a lot of low budget movies and this is far better than all that I have seen. I can't judge this film to a big budget studio film. Okay, it had some sound problems, probably due to the fact that production ran out of money. It happens in most cases when money is an issue. Not like the studio movies they have all the money in the world to fix any problems a movie can have.I really like the premise of the story. Lee Majors follows his 5 kids around and kills them one by one because they turned out to be bad citizens except Michael Pare' who happens to be the detective who is looking for the serial killer, who happens to be his father. Interesting, very interesting concept.Although the script was kind of weak. I think it should have had more back story on the his kids. They should of had Lee Majors (serial killer) follow his kids around more and see a relationship with them.Over all I think it's worth watching. It's not as boring as what other comments I have read in the comments. It was also good to see old actors like PhilipMichael Thomas from Miami Vice.

I rented this from Blockbuster last week, out of curiosity... Especially since I had not seen Lee Majors in anything for such a long time.I have to say, this was a solid film. It had a completely original take on the serial killer genre... making it more personal then anything I've seen. Michael Pare' plays a former FED who has now taken a job as a Police Detective. He is joined by Philip Michael Thomas (where has this guy been) who plays his new partner. They have a history as they were both Federal Agents. While Pare' does a solid job, it's Thomas' weird (almost creepy) performance that gives their partnership spice. Add this to Lee Majors spectacularly creepy and messed up performance, and you have a whole lot of things to keep your interest. While the film is far from perfect... some sound issues and a cliché or two... it is a fresh enough take on the serial killer genre to make it worth a rental. I think the director Ace Cruz has something to be proud of, and it would be nice to see what the guy could do with a real budget. I watch a ton of films every week (and pay a lot in rental fees), and many of the filmmakers / directors of the films I see are just going through the motions to get the film done... where Ace seems to have an actual vision.Check it out!

Spoilers ahead - Spoilers ahead - Spoilers aheadAfter buying the dirt-cheap DVD on Ebay, my expectations were not exactly high, and for good reason: the movie is too boring to spend any time on, not even in order to waste some time away on a dozy Sunday afternoon.Most of the technical details - sound, special effects and so on - are nothing big to write home about (were these guys using blank cartridges?), but they are solid enough for a B-movie, no more and no less. And that's it for the positive aspects. The story is...oh well, weak. And I mean, really weak. A retired, reborn janitor (Lee Majors) falls prey to insanity and goes on a tour of bloody revenge against his fallen and sinful children, who were adopted away from him right after birth. Two veteran police officers, both just retired from the Bureau, lead the investigation. In a final climax Officer No. 1 (Michael Paré) leaves behind his colleagues and confronts the insane killer, just to find out that...ohhh, spank me hard, how original...he is one of these adopted kids, as well. If the story sounds scanty and fragmented, it's not because I'm a lousy narrator - that's really all there is to it. And it's not even told in any way that could make up for its deficiencies. Camera work is lousy at best - too slow, too incoherent, too often focused on some scene of no interest, leaving the audience alone with grasping the salient points, with reconstructing the story.The acting is another thing to scare me in this movie. Did they pay the cast at all? Did they whip these guys? Torture them? Or why else is it that the entire cast appears as tormented, bored, and disinterested as can be? Michael Paré - well, mediocre as ever. In his facial gestures the guy is about as flexible as a solid granite block. And about as attractive. Philip Michael Thomas (Officer No. 2) - he's had his big times. And these are over. For good. And what in all the world happened to my childhood hero Lee Majors? Sorry to say that, but he looks like he's about to perish on the spot, slow, without the least bit of esprit or energy, bored, and so on and so on. They all seem on the brink of one profound and long coma.What remains is the impression that I have wasted 90 minutes of my life. And the anger about having done just that. A weak 2 out of 10. Ugghhh...