Cyberterrorism has taken a gory turn when a serial killer uses his web site’s hits to assist in his murders. That turns every viewer into an accomplice to his crime. Such is the sad state of the world these days. Some people do enjoy watching others suffer. This storyline makes Untraceable stand out among other thrillers out there.
Diane Lane plays Jennifer Marsh, an FBI agent in charge of tracing the untraceable serial killer. Assisting her is her partner Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks) and local detective Eric Box (Billy Burke). The last time I’ve seen Diane Lane was playing a mother to a Jumper. Seeing her as the main protagonist and doing well at it surprised me a bit.
The mystery of Untraceable isn’t tracing who the killer is. You’ll learn about his identity when he abducts his second human victim. It might seem random at first but Griffin Dowd discovered the connections and he paid dearly for it. At least three people paid dearly for a rush hour suicide that happened a long time ago.
Agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane): From there, Reilly’s suicide was public domain… something for five billion people to feed on, laugh at, gossip about. Reilly had a son, Owen. He was brilliant. Good at electronics, mechanics and computers… but he was disturbed. He was troubled. He was withdrawn. Owen took his father’s suicide very hard. He had to be hospitalized. And six months ago, he was released. This x-ray image is supposed to be Owen’s father. The number on the left, the date his father died… followed by the number of his autopsy report. Owen lives alone now at his father’s house in Fairview. What do you say we arrest the piece of shit?
That monologue alone would make you want to watch Untraceable. It was delivered with conviction that can rival William Wallace’s speech in Braveheart. Yeah I might be exaggerating here but Diane Lane deserves to be praised for her performance.
Untraceable is not a masterpiece. Owen Reilly will never be a Hannibal Lecter but the plot and technology is believable in this day and age of Trojans and viral videos. You should watch it at least once. Don’t worry, you wouldn’t be aiding in the suffering of others when you do.
