The David Fincher movie is far superior to this one. But having Al Pacino in this one, he elevates this above average. He takes it to a whole different level. When he says his lines, you can feel the gravitas he's pushing upon the movie itself. Not to take anything away from Snow and Urban, his co stars, it's just ... well we're talking about one of the all time best actors.

The thriller aspect of the movie works and it's nicely/decently done. The tension is there the thrill is there ... the bodies are there and the criminal aspect of it is there. You may see certain things coming in advance, but it's still nice watching it unfold

The deal here is expectations. Al Pacino playing a crusty cop practically being forced out of retirement by a serial killer as well as his old fellow officer with a connection to the officer's murdered wife. This could be a taught thriller. Well, forget about taut and lower the thrills. Hollywood mediocrity and bombast has spit out another wannabe "7" that goes south. The central thread of the crimes is the use of the hangman game by a daily kill. Don't ask how the perp can possibly string his murders together with intricate staging in such a compact time frame. This fact is suppose to be horrendously creepy and sinister one is to suppose? It comes off quite silly. Because the cops can't keep our attention even with Pacino the viewer gets the device of a young journalist who is signed-off to do a story about their dedicated under-appreciated jobs. Conveniently this reporter gets in just in time for The Hangman. Another layer of Hollywood that doesn't gel with a real crime story. So, the movie feels absolutely contrived and fake. Pacino is a waste as his laid back style doesn't add the element it's going for. The co-lead, Detective Ruiney as played by Karl Urban, barely registers even in comparison to Pacino's pedestrian Detective Archer. And as for the reporter Davies played by Brittany Snow it's so thrown in to the stew it comes off as pandering pure and simple. Hangman dashed all expectations for a return to some form for Pacino as it is a lame story with blah performances. Maybe because I'm stubborn I watched it to the end because I can't think of any other excuse?

HANGMAN is a distinctly average addition to the serial killer vs. cop sub-genre of movie-making that previously produced such highlights as SE7EN and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Sadly, this is a by-the-numbers effort that doesn't even come close to the quality of those two productions, or indeed anything else decent in this genre such as THE BONE COLLECTOR or RESURRECTION. A weary Al Pacino teams up with Karl Urban to investigate a sadistic murderer who enjoys playing a macabre game of hangman with the police. What follows is the usual mix of SAW-style nastiness, convoluted back stories, heated arguments and moody lighting. Pacino and Urban are strong enough to carry the film on their shoulders, but it could - and should - have been a lot better.