Blood Work (2002, DVD)

I made the mistake of reading the book first. This book is loosely based on the book. Clint Eastwood is hardly my image of Terry McCaleb and what did they do to Buddy (read the book and you'll understand)? Hint - Buddy's name in the book is Buddy Lockridge...not Noone. My wife, who hasn't read the book, liked it though.

Eastwood has gracefully transitioned into mature roles and this is an excellent example of that. The movie moves quickly as you follow one theory into another. Nothing is predictable or expected. I bought it for myself and for my son because even when you know the ending it is a movie you can watch over and over again for the finer points.

I have always been a Clint Eastwood fan...and that will still continue but I think I made the mistake of reading the book before seeing this movie (yes I know they have both been out for a while). And that is the problem. The book by Michael Connelly was terrific. The depth of his story and the characters is very impressive. And then you see the movie and it had me going "who is that supposed to be?" and "why is he doing that". I know that the Hollywood versions of many things change but in the case of this movie they should have just thrown away what little they used of the book and gone for a fresh story (oh wait that's what they did).
I think that a lot of the potential for a great thriller was right there in front of them and the mark was missed. The whole movie as a whole lost it for me with the straying from a great book. What is it...lost in translation?