“Mindhunters” falls in a special category for me. It’s one of those films that isn’t all that great, but it also isn’t bad for a night of escapism either. It’s one of those films that falls right in the middle of the spectrum.

I remember seeing “Mindhunters” in the theaters and knowing that it had been sitting on the shelf for years. Usually when that happens, it’s an indicator that the movie will stink to high heaven. However, after watching it, I remember thinking, “That wasn’t so bad.”

Of course, I’m a huge Renny Harlin fan, so I tend to enjoy most anything he’ll put out there. In this case, Harlin hit his marks precisely as he had in the past. It’s not his best film, but it can be fun. It’s like “Deep Blue Sea.” Nothing spectacular, but there are worse ways of spending your Saturday afternoon.

The story follows a group of FBI trainees who are studying to be profilers. They are taken to a secluded island to participate in a war game in which they must track down a serial killer. However, soon things become apparent that there is a real killer on the island, and all of them are targets.

This film reminds me of a more sophisticated version of Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians.” There’s a similar mystery, although it’s not as slick of a set-up as the classic novel. “Mindhunters” takes a lot of liberties with violence and gore, and the R rating is well deserved.

There’s plenty of cheesy dialogue throughout this film, especially one of the worst quips said after killing the bad guy: “I guess we found his weakness: Bullets.” Ouch!

The DVD comes with a director’s commentary, which is pretty decent. I haven’t listened to many commentaries by Renny Harlin, but I’d listen to more if given the chance. He does a nice job walking the audience through the film and adding anecdotal stories and bits as he goes. It’s also humorous to hear him continually refer to LL Cool J as “Todd,” his real name.

There’s also three behind-the-scenes videos, including a walkthrough of Crime Town, the set of the secluded island. The other two featurettes includes a basic making-of documentary as well as a fly-on-the-wall look at one of the stunt sequences.

Overall, I’ve seen a lot worse films than “Mindhunters.” I’ve seen a lot better films as well, for that matter.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (2.35:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. French language track. Spanish subtitles. English subtitles for the hearing impaired.