A surprisingly good crime thriller. And get this – it’s one of those incredibly rare movies with fairly accurate portrayals of computers.

Writing: A good crime drama needs an original hook of some kind to build the story around, and this script comes up a pretty good one. The idea is fairly simple – have a web site with a live streaming video of a murder victim. But the killer only sets up the method of murder. The actual kill is delivered slowly as more and more people view the web site, effectively making each person who views it an accomplice to murder. Kinda neat idea. Around this story, you have a fairly downplayed FBI cyber crime unit in Portland, Oregon.

Procution: Like the writing, the production does a nice job at sticking to basics. While the murders require some clever production design, the settings are very basic and real. From the average suburban houses to the realistic and conservative FBI offices, it all just feels like the real world. Cinematography is solid enough and editing gets the job done nicely. Nothing to complain about. Gregory Hoblit is a talented enough director to get the job done right.

Cast: While I’m not a big fan of Diane Lane, she does a nice job in this lead role. Billy Burke does a nice job as the local detective she teams up with, and the two of them have a nice chemistry on screen. My favorite bit of casting is that of Colin Hanks as her FBI cyber crimefighting partner. His character is a nice addition to the mix, and Hanks is great, as always.

Music: Christopher Young is a fish in water with this kind of movie, and his score is naturally excellent. He really knows his way around this genre, having done dozens of films in the last few decades that fit the bill. For this entry in the genre, he comes through yet again. He has one particularly outstanding cue titled “Blinking The Code” that makes the score impressive all by itself. This might not be his best crime thriller score, but it’s certainly darn good.