Panic

Alex is a hitman, with a mid-life crisis. After being brought into the business by his father, it's pretty much all he knows. Problem is, he wants out. Feeling dead inside, he starts going to therapy, where he meets Sarah, a 23-year-old fellow patient. In her, he finds someone as messed up as he, only in a completely different way.

Alex and Sarah begin a tentative affair, while Alex shoots a few people.

William H Macy is superbly cast in the leading role. His performance, as usual, is top quality. Neve Campbell, as Sarah, is just as irritating as you remember her in Scream, although still manages to put in a decent performance. The rest of the cast play their parts well, apart from David Dorfman, the kid from The Ring films, who is rubbish again.

As for writer/director Henry Bromell, there are zero innovative shots and zero new ideas. Perhaps, it's because Panic is the sort of film that's been made a million times before. It's clearly a successful formula and this cast is impressive, but it ends up as a mediocre tale that you forget about instantaneously.

Hitmen are supposed to be cold-blooded killers, but, in trying to make this point on screen, Bromell has created an entirely emotionless film. And if a film doesn't make you feel, what's the point?

Watching Panic is like tracing your finger around the blueprint of a roller coaster ride, instead of actually riding it.