Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Good idea lost in the noise

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Director Renny Harlin is very much a paracinematic man, and his particular brand of style fits perfectly in the early 2000s aesthetic of excess. High concept thrillers such as Speed rely on an exponentially thrilling pace. Moving the plot along faster than the viewer brain can comprehend the inherent silliness of the core concept.Since Fincher's Se7en, thrillers have taken the macabre turn in the crime genre. Reaching the point of Wan's Saw set within one of those trials of torture. Mindhunters similarly attempts the same zenith, upping Se7en's police duo with a ragtag team of FBI agents, racing to solve an ongoing test of intelligence and insanity. Despite the blatant exposition and character development, none of these people seem smarter than Pitt's hardheaded detective.The agents muster a fun mix of "oh, they've come a long way since" and "oh... who?" Notable entertainers here are Johnny Lee Miller sporting his best Blanche DuBois, Christian Slater and Val Kilmer competing in their natural friendly-yet-suspicious-yet-bored acting styles, and LL Cool J acting as if he was John McClane in yet another preposterous scenario.Attempting to outdo predecessors with 'bigger is better', the story takes place on an isolated island complete with an entire city simulation for a training exercise. According to their teacher, representative of "the mind of a sociopath", presumably not meaning laughably inane and ridiculously convenient for the killer's grand scheme. The film, of course, never slows down to let you question how the entire plot hinges of this arbitrary setting.The script of Mindhunters is definitely where entertainment hinges on as Harlin desperately races ahead of logic and common sense. For such a complex and convoluted mystery build, there are a remarkable number of legitimate plant and pay-offs. Many of them are obvious enough to predict despite the suspension of disbelief being thoroughly tested. Much how Jigsaw relies on sheer chance amidst his philosophical soliloquies, a great number of set-pieces and foreshadowing relies on pure coincidence.The script is constantly testing whether these characters are supposed geniuses outmatched or merely idiots outwitted by another idiot. One particular if insignificant moment of clumsy writing is the repeated mantra of a situation only being secure "on the drive home", the heroes of course proving this right... when boarding a helicopter to safety. Could've easily been fixed for "on the way home" but it doesn't affect the story.In a world of post-modern, meta-narrative ironies, Harlin is successful in his sheer earnestness for pure, dumb, entertainment. For a film about investigative geniuses battling a criminal mastermind, it's best to leave your brain at the door.

In a simulated experiment in a scene that is reminiscent of saw, would be agents prove their worth by trying to solve a murder; they all fail and get shipped to an island for further improvements. This island looks like something out of Hollywood and reminiscent of the old Nevada nuclear test sites featured in so many other movies; but there is a twist – they are to get into the mind of a serial killer here by being in a similar element – lost, isolated, afraid, and alone. Instead, they turn into a series of misfits that pass the time while they test the water and solve the island about them. Things go awry and each one is picked off one by one. Time and time again, they use stereotyping, profiling and getting inside of the killer's head as a means to defeat the culprit. The twists and turns are many and just who is the killer changes from one scene to the next as the would be agents try to save and assist each other.The movie is reminiscent of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and many of the personalities seem reminiscent as such; they act like teenagers and otherwise squabble amongst themselves. They either clearly know too much, feel utterly capable and confident in their roles, and still manage to get picked off one by one. In a turn like CSI, many of the story and plot makes sense, but is completely unbelievable from a realistic standpoint. The movie is good for Hollywood and is good for this reason – it creates for mindless entertainment and I recommend this movie for that reason.Originally posted to Orion Age (http://www.orionphysics.com/? p=5201).

The cast of Mind Hunters is as weird and diverse as any movie can get, but what turned me on to this film was the fact that it was Directed by Renny Harlin. Harlin is a legend in the world of action films, responsible for such films as Die Hard 2, 12 Rounds, & The Long Kiss Goodnight. He usually doesn't waste his time on direct-to-video films, and prefers to feature his own people, but the story here was so good, that he must of made an exception. Mind Hunters follows seven FBI agents who are training to be profilers, under the watch of the toughest trainer there ever was, Jake Harris (Val Kilmer). For their final test, the group goes to a small island the navy uses for training, and must work together in order to catch a serial killer that doesn't exist or do they? Once they begin their investigation, the group quickly come to realize that the scene is booby trapped and they are cut off from the outside world, trapped on an island with a killer. While having a unique location and a terrific director, what I really enjoyed about this film was how it was more than just some slasher film. This group isn't just a bunch of frat girls running from a guy in a hockey mask, they are trained, intelligent, FBI agents, trying to figure out which one of them is responsible for setting the rest up. This film features all the fighting, gun battles, and chases that you get in a typical action thriller, but there is also a methodical obsession among the group to find the one that betrayed them, and for that this film is unique. Kathryn Morris stars and has more than enough experience playing a detective, after sever years on Cold Case. Likewise LL Cool J has played a cop on numerous occasions, most recently on NCIS: Los Angles. Going into the film, I wasn't all that crazy about this cast, but once I got into it, I realized that they were brought together, because all of these guys have plays cops, FBI agents, or some kind of law enforcer in the past. That mix of unique personalities and experience help this film, because what the cast lacks in talent, they make up for with experience. Mind Hunters isn't something you've never seen before, but it brings together several different common themes in a new way and it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

"Mind hunters" is a thriller based on idea from famous Agatha Christie book. Ten people are left on isolated island . Soon there are mysterious deaths . Nobody can leave or enter the island , which means that the killer is someone from the group … The book is fantastic and is one of my favorite books. The psychological tension , the dark atmosphere , the shocking twists … Anyway the book has been adapted into movie and furthermore the whole idea of people left in isolated place with killer being one of them has appeared in countless thrillers . "Mind hunters" is one of them.Mind hunters are special FBI agents that specialize in making psychological profiles of serious killers . 6 of them plus one guest are supposed to train their skills on small island investigating fake case of serious killer . Soon , the murders become real and the have to figure out who is the killer.The movie is directed by Renny Harlin famous for "Die hard 2" , "Cliffhanger" and "The long kiss for goodnight" . I like him as an action director – he's a solid craftsman . Unfortunately he's one the biggest problems of the movie . He fails to create dark atmosphere and psychological tension which is so important in this kind of movie . The movie is certainly well paced and never boring , but it obviously lacks atmosphere . Harlin relies on cheap scary tactics that thousands of Hollywood craftsmen tried before. He's simply not a thriller director.The second problem is the script. Our heroes are barely written and mostly defined by their skills , not character . We have 7 characters , yet none of them is either particularly interesting. It's hard to chose your favorite , someone you love or hate . "Mind hunters" never involve you emotionally to what is happening in the movie. It keeps you interested , but never really experiencing the movie , never really caring for characters.The screenplay has some nice twists , humor and dialogue . Sadly near the end it becomes almost an action movie with obviously too long fights and shootouts . The motivation for killer to kill is logical , yet very unoriginal. And some of the knowledge and brilliance of characters seems a stretch.I had problem with the acting . Val Kilmer gives the best performance in the movie , but he appears for 5 minutes only . All the rest including Christian Slater and LL Cool J don't offer anything special . Except for some very bad on-liners ("Lights out ") coming from LL Cool J.With a better director , cast and few changes in the screenplay this could be a great thriller . For me it's a decent popcorn movie . I give it 5/10.