Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined
TeenzTen An action-packed slog
Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Suradit Philosophy, mathematics & logic, Oxford University, murder, intellectuals … all the components that one could hope for in a cerebral, cozy British murder mystery. I, like several others who have written reviews, had high hopes for what would be served up, but ended up disappointed.The genuinely famous "Fermat's Last Theorem" mysteriously became "Bormat's Last Theorem," which was somewhat indicative of much of the flimflam & fakery that enveloped the movie. The whole production was buried in pseudo intellectualism, name-dropping (numerous mathematicians, logicians & philosophers who would probably have preferred, like Fermat, that their names had been changed to protect their reputations) and contrived clues that depended on parsing a presumed mathematical/logical series. Beneath it all there was a plot that might have qualified for a mediocre episode of Midsomer Murders or Columbo, but would hardly engage the "little grey cells" of even Hercule Poirot. Martin (Elijah Wood) and Arthur Seldom (John Hurt) spend a good deal of their time shouting at one another (and various other people) in ersatz academic one-upmanship, apparently on the assumption that the louder you are, the more convincing your dubious thinking must be. More alarming, Martin felt compelled to dash from pillar to post every few minutes, frequently colliding with other people carrying books or papers that went flying in the air. Rather unconvincing romantic couplings and consequent jealousies seemed totally disconnected from the rest of the story. Towards the end we were even treated to a rather tepid car chase and fiery bus crash in a vain effort to heighten the drama.This is a case where less would have certainly been more. Too much was thrown in, in an attempt to elevate a trite and poorly concocted plot with a cloak of intellectualism and atmospherics. Too many unhinged and bipolar characters were floating about. It all seemed to be a hodgepodge of distractions aimed at concealing the absence of substance.It just never came together.
cwat35 We decided to watch this movie and were dismayed to find that, from the very beginning, it was painfully bad. Despite enlisting a cast of capable actors such as John Hurt, Anna Massey, and Jim Carter, to name but a few, no one could rescue this film from its own terrible dialog, laughable contrivances, and ridiculous coincidences. We decided to watch the whole thing just to find out who done it. I wish I could say a clever end had justified the lost hour and 48 minutes of my life. Alas. And, we only have ourselves to blame. We kept shaking out heads and saying, "...but the actors are better than this!" Needless to say, I do not recommend this movie.
blanche-2 "The Oxford Murders" from 2008, I will it gave me a headache. All I have to do is hear the word "math" and I'm out the door. This is a murder mystery dependent upon some mathematical concepts in order to solve the various murders.The film takes place at Oxford University, where an ambitious young student, majoring in mathematics and number theory, Martin, played by Elijah Wood, comes to the school anxious to work with a Professor Seldom (John Hurt).The two end up endeavoring to solve a series of murders that revolve around mathematical symbols. The first murder has to do with the fibonacci series, which apparently is something learned by school children in England. I'm American and from a different generation, so much of this was lost on me.You will obviously love this film much more if you can follow the mathematics; without the math, there is a normal mystery along with several twists. There is also the wonderful John Hurt.Worth checking out particularly if you have interest in the various theories.
he88 I've read some of the negative comments here and generally can't disagree more. I actually found this a pretty good movie in sort of a Hitchcock likeness. I mean throughout the movie I kept changing who I thought was the murderer. With all the twist and turns the number one suspect seemed to be a different person about every fifteen minutes or so...But then something would once again point back to someone else who was looking like less of a suspect. I just love that kind of intelligent sleuth work.I had never even heard of the movie before I found it on one of the pay one of the cable channels....I'm glad I recorded it. The story was very smart and unusual because it used math and philosophy as part of the detective work (Granted this isn't a new concept, but they used it in reference to academics here so that was a bit unusual).The acting was first class from everyone. Elijah Wood has been acting since he was a little kid.....I was amazed at how well he acted then, but as an adult he's one of those actors who only have an "A" game every time. Then there's the other long time vet John Hurt who seems to fit into any character with ease. I think most of the rest of the cast was from the UK so I'm not as familiar with their history, but good performances all the way around.If you like good intelligent movies that keep you guessing all the way through....Then this is definitely for you.
