About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
Kevin Costner deviates from the nice guy path to take on the role of a serial killer in the dramatic movie Mr Brooks. Directed by Bruce A Evans, Mr Brooks is a decent cat-and-mouse type thriller with a few twists and turns you don't see coming a mile away.
Pros
- Kevin Costner and William Hurt are terrific together
- Suitably creepy
- Above average collection of bonus features
Cons
- No Costner commentary track
Description
- Starring Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Demi Moore, and Dane Cook
- Written by Bruce A Evans and Raynold Gideon
- Directed by Bruce A Evans
- Rated R for strong bloody violence, some graphic sexual content, nudity and language
- DVD Release Date: October 23, 2007
Guide Review - Mr Brooks DVD Review
The Story
Mr Brooks (Costner) is a very successful businessman and respected family man. In fact, Mr Brooks is so well thought of that he's awarded man of the year honors. On the surface, everything about Mr Brooks' life appears normal. But lurking underneath the calm, cool and collected exterior is a prolific - and clever - serial killer.
Although he tells himself and his conscience (played by William Hurt) that he doesn't want to kill, Mr Brooks can't stop himself. When he's spotted at the scene of a grisly murder by a voyeuristic amateur photographer (Dane Cook), Mr Brooks is forced into taking the man along on his next kill. Things spin further out of control when a police detective (Demi Moore) gets close to the truth...
The Bonus Features
The collection of bonus features includes six deleted scenes, one of which is an alternate opening sequence (the one in the film is the better of the two). The extras also include a lengthy 'On the Set' featurette with details on shooting in Louisiana. The featurette 'Murder on Their Minds: Mr Brooks, Marshall and Mr Smith' has Costner, Hurt, Cook, Moore and the behind the scenes team analyzing the characters and their motivations.
'The Birth of a Serial Killer' segment provides everything you could possibly want to know about how Bruce A Evans and Raynold Gideon came up with the idea of a serial killer story. And Evans and Gideon team up to talk about their film in a commentary track that's a notch above the normal writer/director commentary. Evans and Gideon share how they came up with their cast and how/why they took the story in specific directions.