Rating: 
Summary: An elegant thriller
Review: "A Perfect Murder" opened in theaters at the start of summer 1998. It did brisk business before being mowed down by the season's high profile fare. Actually, it held its own rather well, which proves once again that the public knows more than experts think it does. This is happy paradox, because much of the public's correct choices are due to the fact that it doesn't know everything. Critics do.Many critics get religion, so to speak. Certain "truths" become holy to them. Since Alfred Hitchcock was 'The Master of Suspense', any movie that is a remake of one of his works is damned before the first foot of film is shot. These self-appointed guardians of cinema can become menacing in their anger and hostility. You'd think Hollywood executives were running around trying to knock off The Pope. "A Perfect Murder" is based on the play "Dial M for Murder", which Hitchcock made into a film in the early 1950s, while under contract to Warner Brothers. I do not question his place in history, but not all of Hitchock's works carry equal weight. He did not like Frederick Knott's play. He reluctantly agreed to do the movie version in exchange for the studio's letting him do a pet project. As a result, they let him make the brilliant and successful "Rear Window", while he gave them the mediocre and successful "Dial M for Murder". "A Perfect Murder" was based on a script the studio already owned. It happened to be the perfect vehicle for young Gwyneth Paltrow to play in opposite Michael Douglas. Director Andrew Davis had already proved his ability at rehashed suspense with Warner's film version of "The Fugitive". The movie suffers not in the least when compared to Hitch's version. If anything, it's a better picture. It obviously had a bigger budget. It's not nearly as mannered and static. The plot has been extensively updated, except for one key scene involving a telephone. Its failings are due to the same elements which bothered Hitch. The play is close to being a potboiler. Still, in the new version, the makers were smart enough to employ film techniques which tend to gloss over the script's weaknesses. As Steven and Emily Taylor, Douglas and Paltrow are perfectly matched. Both have innocent looking facades, but these barely cover personalities underneath, which seem quite capable of cleverness and deception. Mr. Douglas's character may be more transparently criminal, but it is Paltrow's cultivated multi-lingual Emily which leaves one wondering. Is this woman a true victim, or is she simply the smartest player in this game? Viggo Mortensen does well in the role of her lover, whom you decidedly would not want to bring home. Nice characters rarely last long in this type of story. The three main characters, under Billy August's direction, bring off a cat and mouse thriller, which is far more intense than the Hitchcock version. While the plot covers very familiar territory, the movie's elegant look, which is uniquely Hollywood, dominates the picture. Having little substance to work with, the director pulled out the stops on style. Perhaps he figured that, if we were going to travel a well worn path, we might as well go like we were in a Lexus, rather than a Subaru.
Rating: 
Summary: Boasts a first-rate cast and not much else
Review: "A Perfect Murder", inspired by the great Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder", boasts a first-rate cast and not much else. Directed by Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive", "Collateral Damage", "Holes"), based on the "Dial M for Murder" script by Frederick Knott, written by Patrick Smith Kelly ("Don't Say a Word"), and starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen, one just has to wonder how such talented people could churn out such a mess of a film. I had no empathy for any of the characters in this film. I felt very detached from all the characters in this film and thus didn't really care what happened to any of them. This eventually leads to boredom, as it did in my case. Boredom: another thing that plagues this film. In a desperate attempt to make things more interesting, the writer throws in a bunch of twists and turns that failed to shock or interest me in the least. Frankly, this film got downright tedious. During some of the more "suspenseful" sequences, I often found myself checking my watch. No good. The sole redeeming factor of this film is the trio of A-list actors we get to watch. Michael Douglas is pitch-perfect as a scheming, greedy businessman. The eternally elegant and ethereal Gwyneth Paltrow is mesmerizing to watch and brings a little bit of light into this otherwise dark film. And then we have VIGGO (Mortensen, that is). Incase you've been living under a rock for the past few years; we all know and love Mortensen as Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Though Viggo had been in many films prior, this is probably the biggest role he'd ever had in a mainstream film at the time. It's fascinating to watch the man who, in probably only a few months, would be on his way to New Zealand for the role of his career.
Rating:
Summary: Boasts a first-rate cast and not much else
Review: "A Perfect Murder", inspired by the great Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder", boasts a first-rate cast and not much else. Directed by Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive", "Collateral Damage", "Holes"), based on the "Dial M for Murder" script by Frederick Knott, written by Patrick Smith Kelly ("Don't Say a Word"), and starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen, one just has to wonder how such talented people could churn out such a mess of a film. I had no empathy for any of the characters in this film. I felt very detached from all the characters in this film and thus didn't really care what happened to any of them. This eventually leads to boredom, as it did in my case. Boredom: another thing that plagues this film. In a desperate attempt to make things more interesting, the writer throws in a bunch of twists and turns that failed to shock or interest me in the least. Frankly, this film got downright tedious. During some of the more "suspenseful" sequences, I often found myself checking my watch. No good. The sole redeeming factor of this film is the trio of A-list actors we get to watch. Michael Douglas is pitch-perfect as a scheming, greedy businessman. The eternally elegant and ethereal Gwyneth Paltrow is mesmerizing to watch and brings a little bit of light into this otherwise dark film. And then we have VIGGO (Mortensen, that is). Incase you've been living under a rock for the past few years; we all know and love Mortensen as Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Though Viggo had been in many films prior, this is probably the biggest role he'd ever had in a mainstream film at the time. It's fascinating to watch the man who, in probably only a few months, would be on his way to New Zealand for the role of his career.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect
Review: "A Perfect Murder" is about a man (Micheal Douglas) who hires his wife's boyfriend to kill her. The wife (played very well by Gwyneth Paltrow) soon finds something is amiss... and it takes you on a suspensful ride of murder and betrayal. Very good. I'd recomend it to anyone looking for a wonderful movie.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection takes time
Review: A business man's well off wife is cheating on him and he enacts revenge by hiring her lover to kill her so he can take her money as his business is failing. But the foreigner is not all he seems, he's a former crook and a coward who gets someone else to screw up for him and the whole blows up in everyone's face. Ranges from a poor start to interesting and entertaining to confusing in the same note. The alternate ending takes us back to Paltrow's former HUSH, which no one seemed to like.
Rating:
Summary: Love Paltrow!
Review: A good Paltrow flick! It has some good twists and turns to make it a fun ride. Paltrow and Douglas are married but the marriage is not a happy one. She starts having an affair with an artist named David, Douglas finds out about it and is to say the very least is not too happy! Someone's going to pay dearly! David is hired by Douglas to kill the wife, but what happens when everything goes wrong? Worth checking out!
Rating: 
Summary: Not so perfect after all
Review: A husband in financial trouble who suspects foul play on the part of his wife hires her lover to kill her in exchange for half a million dollars. The plan quickly goes to hell and the husband tries to get himself out of the way of the law and gets in more trouble with his wife. Very good suspense flick has it's share of flaws but the pros prevail and Paltrow is something else. The attached alternate ending is dehumanizing on the part of Paltrow.
Rating: 
Summary: flat, uninspired thriller
Review: A Perfect Murder falls far from being the perfect film. Or a good thriller for that matter. Other than Michael Douglas the acting in this film is flat. This movie is about a businessman (Michael Douglas) who finds out that his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) is having an affair with a struggling painter (Viggo Mortenson). Douglas offers to pay Mortenson half a million dollars to kill his wife. If you've seen the trailers and commercials for this film, then you know that part already. The main problem of this movie was that it felt too predictable. We all knew what was going to happen at the end. Another huge problem is that none of the characters in the movie are likeable. They're all corrupt in their own way, even Paltrow's character. A much better thriller is David Fincher's The Game.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Murder
Review: A Perfect Murder is a re-make of the Hitchcock film, "Dial M for Murder." Steven Taylor, played by Michael Douglas, pays David, an artist played by Viggo Montenson, to kill his wife Emily, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Emily and David are having a affair. The plan seems perfect, but is it? The murder is thwarted and the rules change. There is much suspense, and the plot contains several twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Douglas, Paltrow, and Mortenson do excellent jobs with their roles. The DVD contains commentary by the director and Michael Douglas. It also has an alternate ending that I don't think works as well as the one in the theatrical release. "A Perfect Murder" is a very good movie.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Murder
Review: A Perfect Murder is a re-make of the Hitchcock film, "Dial M for Murder." Steven Taylor, played by Michael Douglas, pays David, an artist played by Viggo Montenson, to kill his wife Emily, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Emily and David are having a affair. The plan seems perfect, but is it? The murder is thwarted and the rules change. There is much suspense, and the plot contains several twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Douglas, Paltrow, and Mortenson do excellent jobs with their roles. The DVD contains commentary by the director and Michael Douglas. It also has an alternate ending that I don't think works as well as the one in the theatrical release. "A Perfect Murder" is a very good movie.
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