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Year:    2002
Studio:  Columbia Pictures
Movie:   3/5
DVD:     0/5

Panic Room is a thriller starring Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter who are trapped in their home by three burglars played by Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam and Jared Leto. As can be guessed from the title of the film, the story revolves around the two women being stuck in a panic room while the three men try to get in.

A panic room is a (usually) hidden room in a house specially built as a place to hide and be safe during a home invasion. The panic room in this film has three inches of steel all around. There are surveillance cameras everywhere. It has its own phone line -- which was not hooked up since the women just moved in. It has supplies and everything you need to withstand a long siege.

Meanwhile the three men want to get into the room and into the safe in that room. As a complication -- since you can only do so much with that static scenario -- the daughter needs an insulin shot and the drugs are outside the room so mom will eventually have to leave the room.

For the most part I think this is an ok movie. It has predictable parts but a novel idea to bounce off of. I did think there were some parts that were too Hollywood. At one point they shine a flashlight to get the attention of someone across a courtyard in dark and stormy night. That light was way too bright. There were a couple of other jarring moments for me but not really a big thing.
There are no extras on the DVD other than a theatrical trailer and anemic filmographies. Overall there's not much to recommend for the movie other than seeing Jodie Foster half-dressed and barefoot throughout.

Copyright (c) 2006 Kevin C. Wong
Page Created: January 19, 2006
Page Last Updated: January 19, 2006