Not completely boneheaded
"The Skulls"
Overall Rating: ***
"The Skulls" takes place at Yale, where Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) is a pre-law student. (They never use the name Yale, but that's the only Ivy League school that calls its crew team "the Bulldogs" and has the initial "Y.") Despite being poor and an orphan, Luke has made a name for himself at school by becoming the star of the crew team, which catches the attention of a secret society known as the Skulls. The Skulls are a very powerful and influential group; the president of the Skulls is Litten Mandrake (Craig T. Nelson)--a judge who seems likely to be appointed to the Supreme Court in the near future. Unfortunately, Luke's newfound friendship with Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker)--Litten's son and another new inductee--drives a wedge between Luke and his friends Will (Hill Harper) and Chloe (Leslie Bibb), who mistrust the secret society. When Will apparently commits suicide while investigating the society for the school newspaper, Luke's relationship with the Skulls becomes strained.
In most respects, "The Skulls" is adequate--nothing more, nothing less. The actors are fine, though this doesn't mean much, since the characters are all one dimensional. The film has a few stunt sequences, and all of them are seamless--nothing spectacular but nothing requiring anything sensational. If there's a technical gaffe, it might be the cinematography--there are a few places where the color looks washed out, and one scene where the cameraman seems to be in a wrestling match with the actors.
The plot is overwrought. For instance, in the opening credits, there is text explaining that three former U. S. Presidents are among the Skulls' membership; this claim about the Skulls' power is unnecessary, however, since the groups' directors include Judge Mandrake, a senator, and the university provost, and the group gives each new member thousands of dollars, a new sports car, and a watch. Of course the group is powerful. Each member has a brand on his wrist, but no outsider ever seems to notice (maybe they leave their watches on all the time). Nobody knows quite what the Skulls are, either. Even assuming that every member kept strict secrecy, they have dozens of servants at their affairs, hired escorts for each Skull at big parties, and their very own psychiatric hospital--one would think one of the hired hands would spill something. The end result is that the Skulls may be a secret society, but it's a fairly open secret.
Despite the sometimes melodramatic plot, though, I have to admit that I was interested. OK, there are places where "The Skulls" is obvious: did anyone think that poor Luke was going to spend the rest of his life in the Skull's mental hospital? Despite its excesses, "The Skulls" holds a few surprises, though.
There are also some nice touches. John Pogue looked through a name book before writing the scrip: Luke, who is determined to break the Skulls' secrecy to find the truth behind Will's death, has a name that means "light;" "Caleb" means "bold and impetuous"--and Caleb is certainly impetuous; a mandrake is a type of poisonous plant, again, appropriate for both the senior and junior Mandrakes. I also have to wonder if Luke was on the crew team because the boats are called "sculls"--a term never used in the movie. Shots of the boats themselves have symbolism--before he joins the Skulls and after he starts to mistrust the group, Luke, is often seen rowing, but while he's a loyal member of the Skulls, he is only seen riding in a power boat. An allusion to "Alice in Wonderland" doesn't hurt, either.
There's no secret conspiracy behind the PG-13 rating for "The Skulls"--it earns it. There are a several violent sequences, including on-screen murders. While the obligatory sex scene shows practically nothing (the camera fades out before underwear is removed), the movie has its share of strong language, and one scene where a character consumes a drug-laced drink.
"The Skulls" is by no measure a great film; there is nothing great about it. It's adequate. Fortunately, that adequacy is enough to support an entertaining thriller for about two hours--and that's no secret.
Overall Rating: ***
"The Skulls" takes place at Yale, where Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) is a pre-law student. (They never use the name Yale, but that's the only Ivy League school that calls its crew team "the Bulldogs" and has the initial "Y.") Despite being poor and an orphan, Luke has made a name for himself at school by becoming the star of the crew team, which catches the attention of a secret society known as the Skulls. The Skulls are a very powerful and influential group; the president of the Skulls is Litten Mandrake (Craig T. Nelson)--a judge who seems likely to be appointed to the Supreme Court in the near future. Unfortunately, Luke's newfound friendship with Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker)--Litten's son and another new inductee--drives a wedge between Luke and his friends Will (Hill Harper) and Chloe (Leslie Bibb), who mistrust the secret society. When Will apparently commits suicide while investigating the society for the school newspaper, Luke's relationship with the Skulls becomes strained.
In most respects, "The Skulls" is adequate--nothing more, nothing less. The actors are fine, though this doesn't mean much, since the characters are all one dimensional. The film has a few stunt sequences, and all of them are seamless--nothing spectacular but nothing requiring anything sensational. If there's a technical gaffe, it might be the cinematography--there are a few places where the color looks washed out, and one scene where the cameraman seems to be in a wrestling match with the actors.
The plot is overwrought. For instance, in the opening credits, there is text explaining that three former U. S. Presidents are among the Skulls' membership; this claim about the Skulls' power is unnecessary, however, since the groups' directors include Judge Mandrake, a senator, and the university provost, and the group gives each new member thousands of dollars, a new sports car, and a watch. Of course the group is powerful. Each member has a brand on his wrist, but no outsider ever seems to notice (maybe they leave their watches on all the time). Nobody knows quite what the Skulls are, either. Even assuming that every member kept strict secrecy, they have dozens of servants at their affairs, hired escorts for each Skull at big parties, and their very own psychiatric hospital--one would think one of the hired hands would spill something. The end result is that the Skulls may be a secret society, but it's a fairly open secret.
Despite the sometimes melodramatic plot, though, I have to admit that I was interested. OK, there are places where "The Skulls" is obvious: did anyone think that poor Luke was going to spend the rest of his life in the Skull's mental hospital? Despite its excesses, "The Skulls" holds a few surprises, though.
There are also some nice touches. John Pogue looked through a name book before writing the scrip: Luke, who is determined to break the Skulls' secrecy to find the truth behind Will's death, has a name that means "light;" "Caleb" means "bold and impetuous"--and Caleb is certainly impetuous; a mandrake is a type of poisonous plant, again, appropriate for both the senior and junior Mandrakes. I also have to wonder if Luke was on the crew team because the boats are called "sculls"--a term never used in the movie. Shots of the boats themselves have symbolism--before he joins the Skulls and after he starts to mistrust the group, Luke, is often seen rowing, but while he's a loyal member of the Skulls, he is only seen riding in a power boat. An allusion to "Alice in Wonderland" doesn't hurt, either.
There's no secret conspiracy behind the PG-13 rating for "The Skulls"--it earns it. There are a several violent sequences, including on-screen murders. While the obligatory sex scene shows practically nothing (the camera fades out before underwear is removed), the movie has its share of strong language, and one scene where a character consumes a drug-laced drink.
"The Skulls" is by no measure a great film; there is nothing great about it. It's adequate. Fortunately, that adequacy is enough to support an entertaining thriller for about two hours--and that's no secret.
Title: "The Skulls"
Release date: March 31, 2000
MPAA rating: PG-13
Overall rating: ***
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 107 min.
Director: Rob Cohen
Writers: John Pogue
Stars: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Craig T. Nelson, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb
Director: Rob Cohen
Writers: John Pogue
Stars: Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Craig T. Nelson, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 4/06/2000 08:08:00 PM
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