A movie with such a simple premise, taking place on such a confined set, should be very compact, but David Fincher's thin, disappointing "Panic Room" seems scattered. Recently-divorced woman and her un-girlie preteen daughter take refuge in a "safe room" after three thugs break into their posh Manhattan digs; they don't want to kill anyone, but what they're after is in that precise room. The contrivances in the set-up are very nearly smoothed out (except for a stupid bit involving a flashlight) and the show-off camera techniques are actually welcomed (they add some jazzy visual juice to spike the proceedings). However, Jodie Foster isn't given much to work with in the lead--in fact, nobody is. It's a by-the-numbers exercise in suspense, with echoes of "Wait Until Dark" besides. It does get your blood pumping, but the direction and the editing allow it to flag in the stretch. The finale is hectic and visually confusing--releasing the tension the narrative has built up--and the epilogue is flat. Why not add some offhand humor to the mother-daughter conversation? Something like, "Let's pass on that apartment, Mom, it's got a panic room." **1/2 from ****
Review of Panic Room
