This is a decent film for anyone interested in Ted Bundy and his crimes and psyche. A few reviewers here and I imagine some viewers seem to be disappointed that the film doesn't focus more on The Green River Killer, Gary Ridgeway, but he's not meant to be the focal point of this movie or indeed of the investigation carried out in this film. Robert Keppel, FBI profiler and former Washington police detective sees an opportunity to enlist Bundy's help in profiling Ridgway so he can eventually get Bundy to confess to 8 unsolved murders that took place in Seattle during his time there as a detective.
The good - When the film concentrates on the conversations between Keppel and Bundy it's engrossing. Bruce Greenwood is excellent here, but is outshone by Cary Elwes as Bundy. His Bundy covers the whole range of Ted's personality, or at least what we know of it. He's charming, intelligent, polite, arrogant, provocative and sinister. Elwes covers all of these traits effortlessly. It really is a fantastic performance. All the scenes with these two interacting are fascinating.
The bad - The rest of the film, sadly. There's an unnecessary story-line that is better suited to a soap opera, with Keppel's wife fretting that her husband will lose himself (rolls eyes) by involving himself in serial murder crimes again. Each time these scenes appear you're just willing them to finish and for her to go away so her husband can get on with his job. Why they feel they always have to include these soapy elements to serial killer films is beyond me. There's also an annoying sidekick character who works with Keppel, and although he's a seasoned officer of the law who by his own admission took 8 years to get his "gold badge" keeps making rash and stupid decisions and reactions purely for the sake of the plot. For example upon meeting Bundy for the first time instead of allowing Ted his hubris so they can slowly drip information from him instead he reacts to Bundy's mild ribbing and loses it totally, even rising to physically attack Bundy. This is nonsense and unnecessary, there's already enough drama going on in the scene without this hokum. Thankfully he disappears from the midway point and is only seen briefly at the end.
7/10
The good - When the film concentrates on the conversations between Keppel and Bundy it's engrossing. Bruce Greenwood is excellent here, but is outshone by Cary Elwes as Bundy. His Bundy covers the whole range of Ted's personality, or at least what we know of it. He's charming, intelligent, polite, arrogant, provocative and sinister. Elwes covers all of these traits effortlessly. It really is a fantastic performance. All the scenes with these two interacting are fascinating.
The bad - The rest of the film, sadly. There's an unnecessary story-line that is better suited to a soap opera, with Keppel's wife fretting that her husband will lose himself (rolls eyes) by involving himself in serial murder crimes again. Each time these scenes appear you're just willing them to finish and for her to go away so her husband can get on with his job. Why they feel they always have to include these soapy elements to serial killer films is beyond me. There's also an annoying sidekick character who works with Keppel, and although he's a seasoned officer of the law who by his own admission took 8 years to get his "gold badge" keeps making rash and stupid decisions and reactions purely for the sake of the plot. For example upon meeting Bundy for the first time instead of allowing Ted his hubris so they can slowly drip information from him instead he reacts to Bundy's mild ribbing and loses it totally, even rising to physically attack Bundy. This is nonsense and unnecessary, there's already enough drama going on in the scene without this hokum. Thankfully he disappears from the midway point and is only seen briefly at the end.
7/10