Lucien Lessard John Orr (Ray Liotta) is a veteran arson investigator, who's completely professional at his job and he has an sixth sense for placing the origin of suspecting fires. His loyal partner Keith Lang (John Leguizamo) learns from the best from Orr and Lang has joined the task force in the search of the killer. But some of Orr's colleagues and others thinks that Orr knows too much of these crimes... all too-well. To his friends, family members and colleagues that Orr might be the arsonist.Directed by Newton Thomas Sigel made an terrific, fast paced thriller that is based loosely on a true story. Liotta and Leguizamo gives strong performances in their roles. This movie has an top supporting cast like Colm Feore, Cliff Curtis, Bai Ling, Illeana Douglas, Ronny Cox, Sophia Bush and Rachel Bilson. This movie was made for TV at HBO Films. Sigel's picture is very stylized and it looks like an theatrical movie as well.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD also includes an fairly interesting running commentary track by the director and cast & crew information. Sigel's film is very entertaining.... he keeps everything tight, over the top and short. Certainly worth seeing. (****/*****).

rixrex Much better than most TV and Cable-TV produced movies, with some very nice cinematic stylings.If you know nothing about the actual events, this will be more enjoyable and more interesting than if you already know the story. There are certain plot points that obscure some of the fire-setting activities and create suspense and drama that won't exist if you already know the story.Even if you know basically what happened, it's interesting to see the events unfold and how those involved discovered the truth about the multitude of arson fires set around the Glendale and Los Angeles areas.No spoilers here to ruin it for you, and it is recommended highly by this viewer.

Mark Heiliger At first glance it's just a movie of the week. It's true that it was one of HBO's original movies, but to call it a movie of the week would be to limit it to a group of movies with hackneyed plots, weak actors, and clueless directors. Point of Origin is so much more than those terrible excuses for entertainment.The story concerns an arson investigator (Ray Liotta) and his protege (John Leguizamo) who are investigating a particularly nasty string of arson fires. Those of you who remember the news of the incident this film is based on might see the story coming, but most people will not simply because it is too outlandish to be true. But it IS.What grabbed me most in this movie were the two lead performances by Leguizamo and Liotta as well as a directorial vision that is on the verge of brilliance. Every creative decision made in this movie had a very specific goal. Pay close attention to the palette of colors used. Much of the movie is made up completely of black, white, and orange. Special effects are used to great effect in putting the audience and the characters "inside" the fires they are investigating. As far as TV movies go, this one was truly refreshing.

ManiacCop This film was interesting to watch on a few levels. It was well acted and directed, with a plot twist. The direction is unique in style and conveys the plots ideas well. The director uses bright and dull colors to show what the characters are thinking. He also uses sound to bring the audience into an arsonist's mind. I did miss the first ten minutes of the movie, but from what I saw this movie will keep the viewer interested and curious. Ray Liotta also shines as a highly intelligent and shady Arson detective. The supporting cast does a good job keeping the tension and the enigmatic qualities of Point of Origin going. This movie could have made the theaters if there was just one more big actor in it. It is a lot better than many "theater worthy" films that I have seen in the past. Overall I'd say watch it, over all of those carbon copy movies that you see at the video store.