Panic Room
2002 Directed by David Fincher
Synopsis
It was supposed to be the safest room in the house.
This claustrophobic thriller centers on a divorcée and her daughter who are caught in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three burglars in their New York City brownstone, retreating to the vault-like safety of their aptly named panic room. As the intruders try to breach the room's security, the embattled duo must stay one step ahead.
Cast
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I think most people don't give this film the credit it deserves. The production design is a state-of-the-art masterpiece.
Looking through the background material for this film, it's impossible not to be impressed. For instance, the previsualization process was at the time the most thorough in movie history. Previz can best be described as an animated storyboard, and has never been used to this extent. In fact, with a few omissions in the opening and the end of the film, a complete animated version of the film exists.
The sets were constructed in their entirety at a Los Angeles soundstage («There is no house»). The way these sets are constructed are so meticulously planned that Fincher wore out an entire…
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"- Nice house you guys got. Mom's rich?
- Dad's rich. Mom's just mad."David Fincher 'Panic Room' is a by the numbers thriller, you got your regular joe's, your villains and the set-up, a big house in Manhattan.
So, what makes this film different from other thrillers? the camera work, Fincher went all out with the camera work, from continuous shots going from the 3rd floor of the house to the front door, to a shot that goes through the handle of a tea kettle, this is Fincher experimenting and playing around, and is glorious.
There is not much else I can say about 'Panic Room' is entertaining, tense when it needs to be tense, all and all is not a bad film, I mean, is David Fincher even his lesser work is still quality. By the way, the opening credits are freaking awesome.
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Panic Room will probably be known as David Fincher's weakest film even though most Fincher fans would present Alien 3 with that title. Finchers fifth film (post Se7en and Fight Club) looks fantastic but when you strip back the superb set design, smart cinematography and all those CGI one-shot sweeps through the Manhattan brownstone where the action unfolds, there's not a lot of substance to be found in this Hitchcockian style thriller. You can't help thinking though, after making two such defining films of the 1990's that you'd expect a lot more from Fincher.
The concept of David Koepp's script is a belter; a rich divorcee (Jodie Foster) and her bitter teenage daughter (a pre-pouting Kirsten Stewart) are trapped in…
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I don't remember this being so good the first time I saw it! This film has some interesting camera work let me tell you. You can tell this was the film where Fincher decided to play around with different shots, going through walls, and floors. There is a particular camera pan that takes you through the entire house in one swift shot that is pretty amazing.
This film is tense, and it builds tension very well. The natural gas scene I had completely forgotten about, I was squirming in my seat waiting for the explosion. The performances here are good but nothing top notch, although it doesn't require an Oscar worthy performance either. The actors are good for what they…
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It'd be hard to overstate just how well this fits as "my type of movie." There are few things I love more than a simple, rock-solid suspense thriller, and on top of that it falls into ALL THREE of my favorite unofficial sub-genres. The vast majority of it takes place over the course of one night, the characters are trapped in a confined setting, and it's a Bag of Money movie (the thieves who break into Foster's spatious Manhattan townhouse are looking for $3 million hidden in a safe). Plus, it's directed by David Fincher, and if there's a director currently working who is better at making elegantly brutal suspense thrillers, please enlighten me!
Although PANIC ROOM doesn't have nearly…
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A pretty decent thriller, Panic Room is tense and brilliantly paced, but it's not Fincher's best. Jodie Foster is great and a young Kristen Stewart even gives a decent performance. The camera work is fantastic but it still feels a little flat to me.
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Not among my favorite Fincher films, but a very tense thriller. The thing that really stands out in this is the superb camera work. A lot of really cool shots, you can tell it was made by a masterful director.
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jared leto is in like everything wtf
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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I seem to be one of the few people who can't quite take to David Fincher. I like one or two of his movies, hate others, and am mildly entertained by the rest. All too often he is the prime example of a director choosing style over substance.
PANIC ROOM is a case in point: Looking good on a technical level but pretty bog standard thriller fare with regards to the story.
Watchable.
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Damn I forgot just how incredible this was. Finchertastic!
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For me David Fincher is always connected with Se7en.
And I have to compare all his work with that.
Panic room is sort of a cult film and I took the time to watch it (by laying on the sofa watching the film from the Ipad on my chest).
What I liked was the idea of being the prisoner of your own home. The somewhat dorky bad guys gave the movie a bit of home alone feeling. -
Not bad, but it's the weakest I have seen from Fincher. The concept of the movie is intriguing and parts of it are good but I feel they made wrong decisions at some points.
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I like this kind of movie, stressful ... The ending is weird, like something out of a Harry Potter movie, at least the final scene, papers flying, rain, police ... lol
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It feels a little like a "one for you" film from Fincher, perhaps it was a chance to try out some nifty camera tricks. Not an awful film, the acting around the workmanlike script is as good as it can get, from a better-than-Secret-Window screenplay care of popcorn spruiker David Koepp.
I don't think anyone's a weak link particularly, everyone earns their fee. but when the credits roll, you'll still be the same person you were before you saw it. Probably best seen on TV when you have to kill a night in a motel room (alone).