Lack of good storyline.

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.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This movie seemed bad from the first few minutes: cliché shots, forced dialog, and all that. However, it was highly sought after by a friend of mine, so I kept watching to see what was so good about it.Well, don't hold your breath - the movie was less than ordinary. I will forgets it in a matter of hours, because it had nothing special. OK, maybe I won't forget that soon the obvious plot holes: When Jarod reads the sign language letters from the photos that Alex left, they happen to be in the right order to spell GHOST, a chance of 1 in 120.Jarod is a genius and when he calls to ask for the Swedish embassy's phone number, he memorizes it instantly and dials it right away, pretending to be a Swedish journalist. However, when he is told that the Swedish ambassador will be at the Opera house at 4:00pm, he has to write down that information.At the end of the movie, Alex walks into a crane hanging over the water and pummels at the door at its end, when it is clear that there would be no escape even if the door were to open.Anyway, this movie was a complete waste of my time, and the only reason I'm writing here about it is to advise others to not waste their time as well.

Please do not read this if you have NOT seen the movie yet. I will include a couple of spoilers in my review.Remember how critically acclaimed the show was? I am sorry to say that this movie did not entirely fulfill my expectations. It was a diluted storyline that left a funny taste in my mouth. The writers slapped together a couple of endings and twists they had conjured up to officially end the 4th season.The continuity was sloppy--or the editing, I'm not sure which. But at one point when Miss Parker confronts Lyle about "secrets and lies", the cut of her exit features her wearing a completely different outfit. Oops. Just a couple more things...like why did Miss Parker suddenly switch to a different type of handgun? It was way too big for her to handle...it's a good thing she didn't have to fire a shot. Speaking of guns, Miss Parker's character was ENTIRELY out of character when she set her gun about six feet away from her reach to rescue her father.To satisfy true Pretender fans like me, the movie was good in that it showed that somebody actually cared enough to give the fans what they wanted for a change. Performances noteworthy to mention are as follows: Peter Outerbridge as the archenemy nemesis of the Pretender, Cynthia Dale as the impressionable "Agent Scully" of this movie, Jon Gries as the loveable Brootsie, Jamie Denton as the "thumbless Mr. Lyle", and Andrea Parker as the comic relief/sexual chemistry to the Pretender.The writers did, however, create a good, suspenseful plethera of chase scenes. BUT, like the author of the Sam Spade stories, introduced characters in the last five pages that were never in the book before! And then mercilessly killed them off before we could really get an idea of character development. I like seeing a sensitive side of Miss Parker, which Andrea Parker always portrays with phenomenal grace...but I didn't like it when they turned her into a Miss Cleo. Michael T. Weiss stayed true to his character--you'd think he'd know how to play Jarod by now, he only did it for 4 previous years. Dumping poor Broots out of the car with nowhere to go was NOT in character, and he seemed to treat the computer genius with less respect than in the past.A good job was done to bring new viewers up to speed. A wonderful job was done by Velton Ray Bunch (score composer)--you can't have a decent movie without a decent soundtrack. The music is the backbone to the script. More memories of Catherine Parker could have been recounted by Parker to her new step-brother so he could fill her in possibly of her mother's plan. Lots and lots of cliff hangers were the only thing that I think could have brought back the viewers for the second movie. If you are a die hard Pretender fan, watch the movie again to remind yourself of the day when fictional dramas ruled network television and appreciate it before the day reality TV crushed a writer's typewriter. Oh wait, there aren't any writers for reality TV, are there?

I finally got to see the movie (TNT repeat on 7/3) as I missed it back in January due to never seeing an episode of the show before. Finally started watching it in mid April (season four) and quickly became hooked. Am now watching season one courtesy of TNT and enjoying it a lot. The film was very good and I liked the beginning summary for people who have never watched the series before and it gave a nice overview of the show. As with any highly popular show (e.g. X Files) the producers, writers, etc. have to keep fans' interest stoked so although the film did answer some questions it fanned the flames to new ones in their place. I do not feel that qualified to give a legitimate rating on the show as I still have seasons 2, 3 and the beginning of 4 to watch. I eagerly await the next film and will continue to look forward to watching the show unfold, especially as there were a few characters in the film that I have not come across yet in the series. I just wanted to say that in my humble opinion the film did deliver, and deliver well. Great acting by all the principle characters although I thought Miss Parker was not as nasty in the film as she is in the series and this trait of hers is what makes her character fun to watch in the series. She had some good lines in the film but in the series the rapport between her and Broots is wonderful to watch and I would have liked to see more of this interplay between them in the film. Oh and one more thing - that haircut!!!! Good grief - it gives new meaning to the phrase "a bad hair day" and Michael T. Weiss's barber should be hung drawn and quartered. I hope in the next film his hair looks more like it did in season four; even how it looks in season one is preferable to how it looked in this movie. Uugh.

As always Craig van Sickle and Steven Mitchell have outdone themselves. The Pretender has always been an amazing show and The Pretender 2001 is no exception. It might be a little confusing for people who haven't seen the show before, but it is well worth watching. Of course, I am an obsessed fan considering on the day this made for TV movie premiered I watched the entire marathon: a total of 13 hours of Pretender bliss. This movie is not only exciting but it is also funny and all around entertaining. I would definitely recommend that you watch it, the more times the better. If you want to see the actual series it's on TNT weeknights @ 7pm.