Parents' Guide to Boneyard

Despite their top billing, Mel Gibson and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson aren't in this film that much. And when they are, Boneyard suffers. But it isn't their fault that they don't have much to do. The story and writing largely feel like a work in progress, still trying to figure out what to be after decidedly not going for a direct representation ("based on") of the actual murders, instead committing to being "inspired by." Presumably, presenting a story whose real-life case has still yet to officially name any suspects doesn't inspire confidence that it will thrill audiences. Yet, bizarrely, the film uses the real-life case of the murders as "inspiration" and ends up with a finale without a clear resolution. And this lack of clarity extends to the characters as well.

Jumping from perspective to perspective, the narrative structure is jarring and odd, given that the occasional internal monologue voice over of "the profiler" (Mel Gibson) suggests he's the main character. Even a third of the way in, it's apparent that Gibson's character will only occasionally pop up to say, "I think the killer is Hispanic" or "I told you the killer was Hispanic." The Chief (Jackson) just pops in here and there to be caught up on what just happened. The story is mainly told from Detective Ortega's (Brian Van Holt) perspective. The performances aren't great, the editing is sloppy, and curious character design decisions confuse the story.