Panic Room

A casual viewer will hardly appreciate David Fincher's brilliant camerawork and the subtle noir atmosphere of the entire film. The script is indeed simple, but the main characters are brilliantly portrayed and the settings of the large villa, bad weather, and Jodie Foster's believable acting contribute a lot. For fans of the genre and Fincher's films, it is truly an exceptional work. For most others, however, it will likely be just an average cat and mouse game with a slightly exaggerated ending. (01/11/2003)

Fincher's beloved toy for entertainment, which raises credit through three aspects: the perfect atmosphere of constant unease in the house, from which the camera only emerges sporadically, the ambiguous character of Whitaker, whom you cannot guess which side they will join until the last minute, and most importantly, Jodie Foster, who can play hysterical scenes with surprising bravado, on which most of her colleagues would break their teeth. Because of her, those three stars are better, but it needed more twists and script ideas. This way, the flyovers, details, and slow-motion shots get lost in their own purposelessness several times. 70% (13/08/2007)

A suspenseful and novel plot. There is no Fincher's darkness this time, "only" a very solid thriller, spiced up with a few gimmicks (the camera passing through the ear of the teapot). Jodie Foster is great as always, and it’s nice to see Forest Whitaker again, even in a villain role, but with a good heart. It couldn’t have been any other way with him :) (13/01/2003)

A decent crime thriller that is intriguing in terms of direction. While David Fincher is capable of even better films, here he works his magic with the camera, choosing unusual angles, playing with silhouettes behind doors, utilizing shadows to emphasize the atmosphere of the abandoned house. A weaker aspect is the screenplay, which occasionally stumbles (such as the late arrival of the police considering it's a luxurious prominent neighborhood) and above all, spoils the ending of the film. It could have been more imaginative; a similar ending is already familiar to audiences from many other films. As expected, Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker dominate the cast. Overall impression: 75%. (16/08/2008)

David Fincher knows how to dose the tension in his thrillers. It is always based on a great idea and when it starts unfolding, it is clear he really enjoys his work, scene after the scene. When I was watching Panic Room, I was quite surprised why he is currently stuck with movies which quite contradict the things he is best at. However, I enjoyed this movie. I wish they would make more harsh and exciting thrillers like this in Hollywood. But I have a feeling that movies like this one are slowly becoming rare in the States. (11/02/2019)