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Mindhunters (2004) More at IMDbPro »

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197 comments in total

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82 out of 112 people found the following comment useful :-
Not bad at all, 30 July 2004

Author: Demarates from Antwerpen, Belgium

I don't want to give away too much about the story, so I'll stick to the basics.

A small group of FBI-serial killer experts are in a training program. Val Kilmer is the trainer, an eccentric character named Harris who runs the show in his own way. The whole idea is putting them in situations where they are likely to mess up, so that they will think twice before acting to quickly or jumping to the wrong conclusions in real life.

The idea of this last exercise is to isolate the group on a deserted island, so they can focus on "profiling" a killer without any help from forensics, witnesses and so forth. Things take a very unexpected turn when one of the team gets killed.

It would seem that instead of an exercise they are faced with the real thing : Profiling and identifying a killer before he kills all of them. Is the killer an outsider or someone from within their team ?

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Stuck on an island, people ending up dead one after another... Yes, there is a more than a dash of Agatha Christie there. But there are plenty of interesting add-ons to this Ten Little Indians clone. The acting is pretty decent, although in my opinion LL Cool J was a little too cool to be convincing (some of lines really are over-the-top...) and maybe Miss Valesquez should limit herself to non-speaking parts as her English sounds very laboured.

Don't go in expecting a masterpiece, just enjoy the ride. This movie is a fun high-adrenaline action movie /thriller. I give it 8/10

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52 out of 66 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly Entertaining, 20 November 2004
Author: Mattias Petersson from Stockholm, Sweden

Knowing Renny Harlin's track record, you never know what to expect from the Finnish director. It seems it's more or less random which of his films turn out to be crap or really quite good. I didn't know what to expect here, and maybe my low expectations were part of the reason why i found this film to be surprisingly entertaining.

The setup is pretty standard-fare for a serial-killer film. What makes this different is the victims. They are FBI-agents in training to become profilers. Their teacher is Jake Harris (Val Kilmer) who likes to use special methods while training his agents. As a test the profilers-to-be are sent out to an army training facility on a desolate island. A small town is built on the island and the morning after their arrival a murder will have happened in the town, their job is to find the killer. Something goes wrong however and it seems the game has become real, a killer really is on the loose and now he's chasing them.

To say that this story is unbelievable and forced is an understatement. The whole set-up with an abandoned island feels a bit cheap, a lame excuse to get the agents alone in a place from which there is no escape. But if you can accept that particular bit of plot then the rest is not bad at all. The atmosphere is well built and the suspense is thick. Also most of the actors do a pretty good job creating that "anyone-could-be-guilty"-feeling.

So, even though the serial-killer thing has been done a thousand times and even though the set-up here is even less believable than usual, this is still an enjoyable experience. It might not be revolutionary, and it might not be something you'll remember for very long. But if you like this kind of movie you will at least be entertained for as long as it lasts. I rate it 6/10.

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61 out of 97 people found the following comment useful :-
A fast-paced, popcorn munching good time!, 22 December 2003
Author: celaw21 (celaw21@hotmail.com)

MINDHUNTERS may not offer anything that new to the serial killer genre but what it does do is entertain its audience.

Despite watching and knowing that "everyone is a suspect" and being very familiar with the genre myself, I still had a hard time trying to pin down who is responsible for the films gruesome murders as it rolls along. Forget the award recognition that everyone likes to talk about around this time of year, MINDHUNTERS is a fast paced, thrill ride stuffed with talented actors (including Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, and Jonny Lee Miller) that could easily put director Renny Harlin back on the map after the catastrophe that was DRIVEN. So get some popcorn, sit down, and play the game of who is the killer. Trust me, you'll have a good time.

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37 out of 51 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best of its kind., 17 June 2004

Author: Kazum from Flensburg, Germany

No Spoilers Ahead

I saw the movie last night in the "sneak preview". I had no idea what kind of movie it was, except for the genre "thriller". Thriller is not right. It is more a "Thriller/Psycho/Horror Movie"

Most of the movie you had no time to get breath. It has a really good atmosphere and good actors. You never know what will happen next and you are really shocked the whole time.

Thats what my experience with that movie was, but i have to say that i did not know anything about the content of the movie, i did not see one trailer of it and i read no comment of it before watching it.

I have to admit, that there are several parts which are not logic or seems to be not logic, but it doesn't destroy the atmosphere, because you have no time to think about it during watching the movie.

I would not watch it a second time, because the shocking effects would not work anymore, but i give this movie 7 points.

By the way: there are really morbid and cruel scene's in it, i hadn't expected that.

I can't understand "illegal alien51"'s comment. I liked it!

( I hope my English is not so bad, because i am not used to write or speak English a lot )

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56 out of 95 people found the following comment useful :-
Great movie, keeps you glued to the screen until the very end, 17 March 2005

Author: tagheue from Romania

It started out just like any other so called thriller, but in a very short time it was proved to me that it isn't so. It is a superb movie. I rarely see anything like it. In a nutshell, a few FBI profiler trainees are taking part in an exercise and they are completely isolated. Nowhere to run, nobody to call, trapped in a way. The so called exercise soon turns to be deadly, in a way that surprised even me. I guarantee that you will not see that coming. And that is just the start. Soon the trainees realize that the killer is one of they're own and all hells break lose. Do not place bets on who the killer is, I did and I lost. It is a juicy movie, so do enjoy. You will not see anything like it for a very long time.

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36 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :-
It has it flaws but it's better than a lot of other stuff out there, 30 October 2004

Author: Martin Edelius from Gothenburg, Sweden

I've read comments pointing out that this movie has ripped a lot of ideas from other movies and that there are situations that are so over the top that they get silly.

To that I say; Sure, why not? It's still entertaining.

I agree that they could have used the cast differently and that some of the plot points are quite unbelievable but on the whole it doesn't distract from the tension and the setting of the movie.

The profilers sometimes act pretty stupid and out of character but the actors do a very decent job portraying them and Renny Harlin has actually done a really good job with the directing.

If you want a horror/thriller/action flick where you keep guessing pretty much to the end and don't mind recognizing bits and pieces from other movies then this is for you.

Well worth a watch (no pun intended).

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22 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Decent Rental, 14 October 2005

Author: christian123

A group of eight FBI profiling students are given a final test when they're sent to a deserted military island where they must solve the clues left by a fake serial killer called the "The Puppetmaster." What starts out as an exercise quickly turns deadly as they are killed off one-by-one in elaborate death traps, forcing them to start questioning whether one of them might be a real killer.

The plot isn't original or anything as this concept has been done already. However, this seems like the type of film one would rent to have a good time. It wasn't as good as I had hoped but it was a fair rental. The story did have a couple of plot holes and some unrealistic moments. The movie is also kind of predictable. If you're playing really close attention, then you will figure it out. The characters were pretty much all one-dimensional so it wasn't hard to see what role this person was playing and such.

The acting was decent, nothing spectacular though. Kathryn Morris is no stranger to this type of roles. However, she isn't a very good actress. She's tolerable but they should have gone with someone else. Val Kilmer is in the film for about 15 minutes, which is bad since his character was probably the most interesting one. Christian Slater gives an awful performance and it's good thing that he doesn't really appear much in the film. LL Cool J gives a decent performance. He's not really a favorite of mine but I don't hate him or anything.

People should know not to take a film seriously if Renny Harlin is directing it. His films are usually made for fun and he isn't a very good director when he makes a serious one. Exorcist: The Beginning was bad and so was Driven. He does a decent job with this film but I still haven't forgiven him for making Cutthroat Island. The film isn't very long as it's just 100 minutes long. The death scenes are also pretty good even if they are unrealistic. The ending is longer than it needs to be but it doesn't effect the film too much. I also don't really understand why it was delayed as it was a mildly entertaining film. In the end, this film is worth watching if you're looking for a mindless thriller. If you're looking for something that will challenge you, look elsewhere. Rating 6/10.

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21 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
does what it's supposed to, 21 January 2004

Author: lix from Edmonton, Canada

I found Mindhunters to be a thoroughly entertaining movie that did have some good surprises and moments. The story is as original as it could be, although, one can argue that the whole group in isolation getting picked off one by one thing has been done before. I will not give away too much of the movie so that you can be surprised at the twists that it offers, except I must make one comment. Why on earth do they let LL Cool J have some of the most ridiculously stupid one liners. I mean, if he wants to be bought as a believable actor, he needs to put an end to this madness. I am sure you will know what I am talking about when you see the movie.

Anyway, I give it 8 out of 10 and a definite check it out if you enjoy thrillers... especially ones with gruesome killers.

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12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
They were hunting minds, but they forgot to bring their own, 26 October 2005

Author: bas rutten from Eindhoven, the Netherlands

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Renny Harlin isn't exactly known for making intelligent movies, but at least they're usually quite enjoyable. "Mindhunters", however, is so utterly stupid that it's hard to get any kind of enjoyment out of it, apart from maybe some unintentionally funny bits.

The concept behind Mindhunters (group of people get stuck somewhere with a killer on the loose) is OK, and it has lead to some exciting movies in the past, including Harlin's own "Deep Blue Sea", which, while also very stupid, at least didn't take itself seriously. Unfortunately, "Mindhunters" does. And that's were the problems start.

"Mindhunters" is about a group of supposedly talented FBI trainees getting stuck on an island. Before long, a mysterious killer starts killing them off one by one, using increasingly more elaborate traps (think "Final Destination"). The first problem with this is that the traps that are used are so ridiculously complicated and depend on so much circumstances that in real life, they would have a one in a billion chance of succeeding. They would also take hours to set up, time that simply no character has since they're all together almost all the time.

Next, although the main characters are supposed to be trained professionals, they immediately crack up after the first murder, and start panicking and wildly accusing each other for so reason whatsoever. Yeah right.

The list of implausibilities and plot holes goes on and on, right up to the conclusion that makes no sense whatsoever, and seems to be there only for shock value.

All of this might have worked if the movie hadn't taken itself so seriously, or if there had been any other redeeming qualities. There aren't. The acting is poor, none of the characters are even remotely interesting or even likable, and there's hardly any humor in the entire movie (in spite of LL Cool J's presence). The only small point of light in this mess are some of the murders, which, granted, are fairly spectacular.

"Mindhunters" is a movie that asks of you to completely abstain from using your brain for about over one and a half hours, for only a couple of seconds of gore. If you ask me, that's a pretty poor trade-off. There's nothing wrong with a bit of mindless entertainment, but this goes beyond any reasonable limit.

*1/2 out of *****

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23 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Slash Thriller, 15 December 2005

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A group of seven FBI trainees is sent to an isolated island for the final stage of their training period under the direction of the eccentric Jake Harris (Val Kilmer), who uses questionable methods. However, they are attacked and killed by a serial killer that can be one of the team members. The tension increases amidst the group with the lack of confidence on each other.

Although not being exceptional, "Mindhunters" is a good thriller and slash movie. The tense story is original, mixes horror, thriller, action, crime and mystery and the resolution is not bad. This is the type of movie that entertains and I liked it. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Caçadores de Mente" ("Mindhunters")

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