As history has shown on a number of occasions, any movie from the Denzel Washington back catalogue that contains either action or thriller elements is destined for a strong showing on Netflix, if and when it gets added to the platform.
Regardless of quality, anything that boasts the two-time Academy Award winner and living legend in the lead role is guaranteed to find success among subscribers. The latest in a long line of examples is The Bone Collector, which keeps Washington confined to a bed for the entire running time as quadriplegic forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme, with Angelina Jolie’s cop Amelia Donaghy acting as the audience surrogate.
A serial killer has left behind a trail of bodies all identified via the same calling card, forcing Lincoln and Amelia to work double-quick to piece together the cryptic clues before more victims turn up. Helmed by a solid pair of hands in Philip Noyce, The Bone Collector is a million miles away from being terrible, but it’s still underwhelming.
The worst thing for a crime thriller is to be predictable, and you’ll be seeing the twists coming from a mile off. Despite poor reviews, the Denzel factor pushed The Bone Collector to a box office haul of over $150 million, while it’s been a hit on Netflix after jumping almost two dozen places on the most-watched list overnight, as per FlixPatrol.