Taking Lives (2004)

Taking Lives is the kind of sleek, rain-slick thriller that knows how to lure you in with atmosphere as much as suspense, turning Montreal into a cold, elegant maze where every detail feels like it might matter. Anchored by Angelina Jolie’s coolly focused presence, the film keeps its tension humming through stylish direction and impressively crisp cinematography that makes even quiet moments feel charged. It’s a solid, entertaining cat-and-mouse ride that values momentum and mood, delivering the satisfying pleasures of a well-made studio thriller. If you’re looking for a gritty true-crime procedural, it may feel a bit glossy, but if you want a tense, watchable mystery with star power and polish, it’s an easy recommendation.

Taking Lives wants to be a sleek, cat-and-mouse serial-killer thriller with a stylish Montreal backdrop and a profiler who’s always one step from the truth. The problem is it plays like a greatest-hits remix of better films: the twists telegraph themselves, the logic gets wobbly, and the story leans on “just go with it” coincidences that can make the finale feel more preposterous than thrilling. If you need smart plotting, credible police work, and surprises that actually surprise, this will likely irritate you more than entertain you. That said, if you’re in the mood for a glossy, mid-2000s thriller with a few tense moments and you don’t mind predictability, it can still function as low-stakes background suspense.