maymaymonarch This film is by no means great and it has plenty of flaws (dialogue being the major one) but it accomplishes what it was made to do which is to give you a decent thrill. If you're looking for something original, smart, and top of the line, you won't find it here. I went into this movie with very little expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. Sam Jackson was by far the highlight of the film and he delivers a very strong performance. You really feel intimidated by him and while character's make choices that seem strange and at times stupid, it's not hard to see why with a character like Sam's in the back. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that thinks that they should get something big out of this because big expectations are what kill a film like this. I personally thought they did a good job capturing tension and I wouldn't mind watching it again if I couldn't find anything else.

Rich Wright The concept of an everyday man befriending a nutcase who proceeds to create chaos all around them, thus implicating the innocent bystander too is not an uncommon one: other examples of this plot include Piggy and Bad Influence. Or for a more lighthearted take, try Something Wild. And it's a well known fact that 1 movie in 5 these days features Samuel L Jackson, so we were bound to cross paths on my Random DVD Pilgrimage. I'm still looking for sponsors, ya know.So, how does Meeting Evil fare? Well, it doesn't leave the audience very long as to the Jackson character's personality. From his first appearance, we see him step out of his car with an all black ensemble on and an evil glimmer in his eyes... then the bodies start piling up. Someone chewing gum while on duty at a gas station? Kill them! A girl refuses to let you use a free payphone at her office? Bludgeon her to death! And so on... for the most minor of infractions, all who meet with his disapproval meet the same fate. And guess who winds up being the cops No 1 suspect? Clue: It's not the snappy dresser!Yep, Luke Wilson is the family man dragged along for the ride, in this very violent thriller which could only escape with a 15 certificate because most of the bloodshed takes place off-camera. It doesn't abound in great psychological studies either, Jackson just kills... because he feels like it. He starts off menacing, but by the end his activities have become so far-fetched he starts to resemble a parody of himself. There's also a noticeable lack of depth... because all the focus is on Jackson and his antics, the other participants get short changed. There's a slight twist at the end which changes hardly anything... Then the lights go out. End of movie.I felt hollow while it was on, and pretty much unmoved afterwards. Routine stuff, really. 5/10

sforrester-3 This film should have been so good but wasn't. I watched right to the end, waiting desperately for Wilson to show some kind of emotion and.....nothing. If you basically end up going on the day out from hell with a psychopath , I'm pretty sure your face would register surprise or dismay or just something relating to an emotion but Wilson managed to go through the entire film as though he was standing in an incredibly long queue at the bank. His wife, on the other hand, managed to go from Stepford to Psycho in one fell swoop. Throw in some idiotic police, Silent Bob's love children, an apparently homeless child with a dog and a ridiculously stereotyped Samuel L Jackson then you have the recipe for Meeting Evil, a film I would have liked to have liked but didn't. I noticed some people are questioning why it went straight to DVD, I'm questioning why it was made in the first place.

Luke Hodgers Viewing this film gives me hope for the films that often don't make it to the big screen. It's not your typical rushed together "bill-payer film". It's clearly put together really well, with Samuel l Jackson playing the omniscient skilled killer "Richie". And Luke Wilson playing the dumbfounded "John" the pair set out on a journey... "I'm the only person that hasn't given up on you, John" every word that comes out of "Richie's" mouth demands respect. A very interesting aspect to this film is that Chris Fisher insures that the statements that Richie says actually can be seen as true in some way."Stop trying to figure me out. I got my own ideas.""I know I can act a little strangely sometimes. Just because I'm a little different doesn't make me a bad guy."It's quite weird in the fact that i found myself days later actually remembering his quotes, with Samuel l Jacksons raspy voice ringing in my ears.Although a thriller, i couldn't help but laugh at the brashness and lack of emotion that Richie shows. A example of this is when they are being chased by a husband of a woman that Richie just killed along with several others. The mans truck eventually stops with the car stopping also "let's rip his throat out". It's actually quite comical at times with John acting as the sensible mediator between Richie and the world.However i do have to say that the scenes without Richie and John failed to stimulate me as much ie. the police investigation. In conclusion, i don't feel that meeting evil is anything groundbreaking that the industry has never seen before but feel that the acting and chemistry between Samuel l Jackson and Luke Wilson really lifts the film. If you're debating whether to pick this one up in the DVD store, do it, it'll definitely be worth it.