Terrible Adaptation! Postcard killings (2020) || Movie Review.

This movie has been on my watchlist for 5 years. I'd been holding off from watching it because of two things. First, I didn't want the producers to destroy the unforgettable memory I have of the book this movie was adapted from and lastly, I was scared that the adaptation wouldn't impress me. At the end of day, my greatest fear came to haunt me and I would never forgive the producers and director for this.

”Postcard Killings (2024)” is a crime film that was based on James Patterson’s book titled The Postcard Killers (2010). It was directed by Danis Tanović by eight people including James Patterson. It starred Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen, Cush Jumbo, Joachim Król, Naomi Battrick, and Ruairi O'Connor.

A Snippet Of The Plot.

A New York police detective Jacob Kanon and his wife arrived in Europe from London to collect their daughter's body who was on her honeymoon after she was murdered by a serial killer. This was heartbreaking news for both of them as they discovered that the killer poses the couples bodies to mimic great works of art.

Jacob had to stay behind to get information on the murder case of his daughter, but the detective in charge was not forthcoming with information he wanted. So Jacob took the matter into his own hands to track down the killer himself. Was it easy for him to do?

However, Jacob tracked down a reporter who was somehow involved in the serial killer’s cases to try to get some information from her. Dessie the reporter finally gives in to Jacobs proposal but has a hidden agenda. Who is this serial killer? Why does he pick young couples for his atrocious deeds?

Why This Movie Was A Failed Adaptation.

Like I said earlier in the beginning of this movie, I was disappointed with the adaptation. I wish I didn't watch this movie at all. However, I was pushed to watch the movie because of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Famke Janssen. These two actors are always good with their roles in any movie they appear in. I wanted to see their performance but in the end, their talent was wasted in this movie regardless of how hard they tried.

This movie was a failed adaptation because the storyline of the book and the movie were totally two different stories. The only familiarity between the book and movie are the names of the characters. Even though James Patterson was part of the production team, I doubt he was there when decisions were made about the plot of the movie. That was highly disappointing.

The producers and director didn't read the book before going ahead to produce the motion pictures. From the movie, it was obvious that they never cared about the book, the author's work, and the characters of the story. What they all cared about was the money.

My Review And Rating Excluding The Book.

If I were to review this movie as a viewer who has no idea that it is based on a book or as someone who hasn't read the book, I would say this movie was a slow pace crime that lacked substance over style.

It is a movie that starts slow, then continues at that pace till the end. The outlook of the movie is not colourful but depressing. Using a colour to describe it, I would say grey. The storyline was averagely good but has lots of potholes and missing subplots. The mystery and twist in the story was not properly written. There was no suspense to this movie because the audience got to know too much right from the beginning.

The story arc was weak and there was no tension for a crime movie. It was easily predictable and the antagonist was easily identified. There was no eerie mystery surrounding the antagonist character, some scenes were overstretched and towards the middle where there is supposed to be suspense, everything turned into a bland murder procedural.

Directing style was quite decent but not impressive. There were a lot of annoying fade-ins to out-of-focus dizzying shots. The cinematography was okay however, it wasn't impressive too. Casting and performances were manageable regardless of the fact that the main actors put in their best.

Rating this movie as person who has read the book it was based on, I will give it 1 out 10 stars. I was disappointed. I wouldn't recommend the movie to those who have read the book.

Rating the movie as a person who hasn't read the book, I will give it 6 out 10 stars. Be warned, this is not a thrilling crime movie. It a slow paced one that lacks substance.