Arthur Seldom (John Hurt), a prestigious professor of logic, and Martin (Elijah Wood), a young graduate student, work together to try to stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols at Oxford University.
A wonderfully compelling mess of a movie. It's tricky trying to bond Hitchcockian flair with lecture hall semantics, but the director works his tricks with ace visual consideration.
A math- and symbology-tinged thriller adapted by director Álex de la Iglesia, and pitched at a breakneck, didactic clip, absent any sensible, modulated emotional investment in the characters or material.
The Scooby Doo ending requires nearly ten minutes of explanation and negates the need to follow the previous 90 minutes. It's also preceded by one character stating, "In life, nobody bothers explaining anything." Well, except in this movie.
Disappointing, badly plotted thriller, let down by some dodgy acting, poor direction and a script that makes The Da Vinci Code look like a masterpiece.
