Absolutely Fantastic

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

AKA: Emmett's Mark, this was sent straight-to-video for no reason. It's pretty good.Scott Wolf plays the title character who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Young meets a stranger (Byrne) who can a hire a hit-man (Tim Roth) to kill him. Young accepts the offer at first, but he changes his mind at the last minute and now has to stop his own death.The best part of the movie is the performance by Roth. He could just phone in his role, but he puts in an extra layer of character development that makes you like him. Byrne and Wolf also put in fine performances. There's also a really well-shot foot chase and while there's no reason for it, it was welcomed. If you're looking for something different, "Killing Emmett Young" is a decent choice.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Scott Wolf plays a young detective called Emmett Young, who's said to have one week to live.He hires someone to kill him.When he wants to cancel the order, it's not so easily done.Emmett's Mark (2002) is a fine thriller drama that manages to keep the suspense on from the beginning till the end.Scott Wolf, who played Bailey Salinger in Party of Five, is very good in the lead.Gabriel Byrne, who plays the guy after him, is very good also.Other actors I could mention are Khandi Alexander and Tim Roth.Everybody's great in the movie.The plot is, I think, something unique.You don't see movies like this every day.Sure it's not a masterpiece and soon to have a classic status, but who cares.It's great entertainment.I think this movie is way underrated and you should give it a chance.All of you.

I liked the movie. Consider it very psychological. And I don't think that the serial killer does matter. It is just the way of Emmett to express his desire to live and give a trace in the world. He is struggling so hard to solve a murder, knowing that it will be the last thing that he will do. The twist in assassin's head to kill or not to kill is that he himself does not think that he is capable of doing it. He wanted to be a good cop all his life, but he was just an ordinary guy who could not do anything of his life. And when Steven Bracket insults him and tells him those things, he knows that it is true. At the same time he is jealous at young detective, because he is everything that assassin had ever wanted to be. The end is really surprising. We are going back, like in the circle. The normal life continues, and somehow we know what will happen no matter that it is not shown.

This is a fairly bleak movie that tries to give a message of hope: live your life to the full. The acting is mostly good, Tim Roth giving a particularly down-beat depiction of a no-hoper trying to find some kind of joy and purpose in his life, even if that is being an assassin. Scott Wolff, the hero detective is good too, also trying hard to make sense of his life. Gabriel Byrne does a great American accent, but deserves to be in better movies than this. There's a line in the film something like, "If you were going to make something of your life, you would have done it by now." Maybe that's the message. But we also get the hint that if we stay true to ourselves everything will work out. Anyway, the plot follows through if you concentrate a bit, and it has a satisfactory ending. I enjoyed it more than most things I see these days.