THE SKULLS

Luke is a boy from humble origins who attends an exclusive college in New Haven. Thanks to his excellent academic and sports results, Luke realizes his dream: being invited to join the secret society of the "Skulls", an organization that selects the future members of the US ruling class in exchange for absolute loyalty above the law. Aware of the privileges, Luke accepts, but the suspicious death of a close friend who was investigating the "Skulls" makes him discover the other side of the coin: it will be the beginning of his troubles.. The judgment on "The Skulls" can vary depending on the target audience – in other words, on the desire to see "the glass half full or half empty": certainly more mature than its clearly teen nature, too naive for the thriller in the true sense of the term and the genre. Beyond any possible – and probably useless – targeting, we can talk about a title with good potential not fully exploited. The film addresses a undoubtedly interesting topic, we are in the territory of university secret societies, represented as real power lobbies. The film can be divided into two segments: it starts well thanks to the plot, which we were talking about, intriguing at first reading and capable of arousing the viewer's curiosity just right, but then, unfortunately, it loses momentum when it gives way to the common predictable commercial thriller lacking noteworthy twists. The good premises and the right atmosphere created in the first part are then replaced by rushed narrative sequences, telegraphed revelations, and a gradual flattening of the characters in the second. Not to mention some evident contradictions: rather than secret, the society of the "Skulls" seems to be ultra-known by everyone, with the excess represented by the skull logo embedded in the university tower. The western finale, then, is a bit of an eye-opener. That said, the missed opportunity does not turn, fortunately, into a bad movie. If on the one hand there is regret for good potentialities not fully exploited, on the other hand we can talk about a title that, although not memorable and having its flaws, is nevertheless enjoyable, has its good tension sequences and does not bore. Moreover, if we consider what were probably the intentions of its creators, we cannot say that they have been betrayed. "The Skulls" evidently does not have the pretension of a deep reading key or an introspective vision. The narrative structure of the film follows two paths that seem to begin one at the end of the other: the first is the moral one that describes Luke's change from a cynical arrivist to the inevitable – and predictable – redemption; the protagonist's inner conflict resolved, the second path begins, the marked thriller that will see the boy trying to get out – alive! – from a situation bigger than him. At the beginning, we talked about a teen – or at least youthful – destination not by chance the main interpreters – who, in a global balance, do not stand out – are the then emerging stars Paul Walker ("Timeline" and – above all – the saga of "Fast & Furious") and the protagonist Joshua Jackson ("Cursed", "Shutter – Ombre dal Passato"), who was popular at the time with the teen series "Dawson's Creek" and at whose "service" the film seems to be put. They are convincing, in the roles of the old skulls, William Petersen – the Grissom of C.S.I. – and Craig T. Nelson – the head of the family of the first two "Poltergeist". The director Rob Cohen ("Daylight", "The Fast and The Furious", "xXx", "La Mummia: La Tomba dell'Imperatore Dragone") is not exactly in his usual territory, which usually sees fast-paced action, adrenaline, and a wanted as much as successful – and we would even say appreciated if you like the genre – tamarragine, nevertheless, he succeeds in his task without excelling but also without failing. The film is decently crafted, the choice of lights and photography is right. In conclusion, nothing unforgettable, we are in the presence of a film that, as they say, is in the "middle" in that it could certainly have been better but probably also worse. An honest thrillerino, light and uncommitted, and without even pretending to be, without strokes of genius, it doesn't "sconvolge" but doesn't bore, it can be watched until the end without problems although it doesn't leave an indelible mark in the viewer's memory.