This weekend I saw the movie Shutter Island. It starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Sir Ben Kingsley as well as other potentially strong cast members such as Mark Ruffalo and the legendary Max Von Sydow. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and has been the number one movie in America for a couple weeks now.

The base premise is that a US Marshall is called out to an asylum for the criminally insane which is located on a mystery island that gets bad weather somewhere in Boston Harbor or just outside of it. He is called out there because one of the patients/prisoners has disappeared from her cell without a trace. When he and his partner get out there, it is clear that the place is hiding something from them and everyone is in collusion to make it seem like they are not. As the “investigation” goes on,  wacky twists and turns occur so, that by the end of the film you are not supposed to know which way is up and are surprised by how it all comes out.

Sadly, I wasn’t confused or tricked or…even very impressed with any part of the movie. I mean, I guess the island looked cool but, it also looked real CGI heavy. I guess Ben Kingsley did a good job…sort of. He was convincing as the head of the hospital given his lack of depth as anything but. None of the characters had much going on and even Leo’s character, the MAIN guy, was thin at best and in no way did I feel any affinity toward him in whatsoever. So, by the end, who could really care less what happened to the dope? Also, they sort of tried to convince you that it was a big government conspiracy but, that too had a ton of loose ends and, again, who really cares? Why should we? It is the 50s and the beginning of the Cold War and they did reference WWII over and over again so, they could have really stood on that premise but, instead they must have decided to, avoid making this film a thinker and spoon fed you the whole time. We have been given no indication that anything bad is happening out there besides some wispy accusations tossed around. We do get to see some of “Ashcliffe Hospital”  itself and toward the end they throw in some sort of grisly looking accommodations for some of the “TRULY INSANE and dangerous” inmates but, since they are shown as sorta monsters you end up just thinking “GOOD, glad their all locked up.”

If you have seen the 1973 original The Wicker Man with Christopher Lee, you have seen it all before and done much creepier. Also, if you have read or seen William Peter Blatty’s  The Ninth Configuration you have seen the asylum twists done much darker and with more impact. Interestingly this too was based on a decent novel but just falls way short of being compelling, creepy or…good. The REAL disappointment for me was with Leo because the last three movies I saw him in, Blood Diamond, The Departed and Body of Lies, his characters are very real and he showed that he is a strong actor who can play a convincing adult. By that I mean, he had played a boy for so long that even when he tried to be a tough guy like in Gangs of New York, he was still a prissy little wuss. Watch Blood Diamond and tell me if you still think that. Awesome film. AS is Body of Lies so, it’s a bummer to see him groping in this role and sort of surprising. Also, you would think Von Sydow on a creepy island as an ex-nazi doctor would be a home run, but, instead…flaccid as he probably is these days.

So, please, go see something cool instead. Don’t buy it and if you can possibly avoid it, don’t go see Avatar either. How stupid?