User Reviews

I went into the theater because of the interesting star combination of Hiugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor. I did not have an idea what the story would be about. However, the simple (and unimaginative) title was a give-away of the plot. Within the first ten minutes, you already feel you have seen this movie before. I immediately thought of the Clive Owen-Jennifer Aniston movie "Derailed." (The initial chance seduction occurred at a train station, as well.)

John McQuarrie (Ewan McGregor) is a lonely accountant/auditor with zero social life. He gets hooked into a sex "list" by the magnetic man's man Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman). There he meets the girl of his dreams simply known to him as "S" (Michelle Williams). Of course, since the title gives away the plot, you knew this set-up was all an elaborate deception, and nothing is really what it seemed.

As for the plot, there were a lot of improbabilities that weaken the story (some spoilers follow later for those interested). The suspense was a bit muted because the director was generous with the clues. Or may be we have just watched to many of these variations of this story in movies.

The sex "list" set-up (which was the main thing of interest that set this movie apart from others like it) was most likely inspired by real such social clubs. These lurid circles where busy people just call each other randomly for some anonymous commitment-free sex, I am sure, ordinary guys like us will never get mixed up with in real life. This movie does give us a vicarious teasing peek into this alternative lifestyle, though.

I did like the triumph of good at the end though, because there were no strings attached.

I could not help but compare this film with "Derailed" because they were so similar, and "Derailed" was clearly better in all aspects. That said, this film "Deception" is really not that bad as the cheap local posters (that resort to sexy photos of girls in lingerie) would suggest.

***********SPOILERS FOLLOW************** These are the questions that the movie requires you to turn a blind eye on: How could Bose possibly assume that McQuarrie would do his criminal bidding just because of "S"? At that time, McQuarrie had only met "S" twice, and they did not even have sex yet. And indeed, can an auditor actually gain access to perform multi-million dollar money transfers from the company he is auditing? Also, is it that easy to create fake passports? Especially in the case of McQuarrie.

When I first saw the trailer to Deception, I was intrigued, but a little put off, we haven't had a thriller release in theaters that was actually good in a while, let alone a sexy thriller. But I saw Deception on Sunday and I think the rating on IMDb is a little harsh to be honest, this was such a cool, sexy, and sleek thriller, true, it was a little predictable if you've seen every thriller possible, but Deception kept me interested and had a good story with an equally strong cast. I was a little disappointed in the ending, it seemed like they could've had something a little stronger with Hugh and Ewan, like they would've been a great pair of trouble makers for the world to watch out for. But it was also cool to see the female fetal back, which we rarely see, and Michelle Williams was a great choice, she had the looks and the talent to pull this movie together with the two strong male leads.

Jonathan is an accountant, one of the best, but his life is just what you expect of an accountant: boring, typical, and no ladies, but he meets Wyatt, a handsome, strong, successful lady's man, they become best friends immediately. When Jonathan accidentally grabs Wyatt's cell phone, Wyatt is in a different country, so Jonathan uses the cell and gets involved with a sex club. He meets S, a mysterious girl he just falls for, but when she is "kidnapped", he gets in a lot deeper than he expects and doesn't realize the set up he fell for.

Deception is predictable in some ways, the ending, if you are used to these thrillers, yes, you're going to be able to see what's coming, sad, I know, but I'm so used to it that I'm just accepting it. I thought this was still a clever thriller, I just loved Hugh's performance, he was so into his character, he made it sexy and creepy. Ewan pulls in a decent performance and stands strong, the ending is his peek in the film and Michelle was just great as S. Deception is a cool thriller I highly recommend, it's a sexy movie that won't leave you disappointed.

7/10

This didn't get exceptional reviews but I kind of enjoyed most of it. It was mostly towards the end when the winces of disbelief appeared.

It's a suspense story in which naive, dumb, prosperous burgher Ewan McGregor is blackmailed by smiling, psychopathic, murdering Hugh Jackman and sultry but beef-brained Michelle Williams.

I don't think I'll give away much of the plot because it's twisted and at the end it explodes into a multitude of flapdoodles.

I found the acting to be pretty good. McGregor is entirely believable as the harmless Wall Street. Jackman is strapped into the role of the smiling evildoer and there's not much that he can do with it. Williams is convincing. Lisa Gay Hamilton, an unimpressive physical presence, brings life to the role of the necessary detective. The direction is functional and efficient, without fireworks.

However, the plot thins. You have to believe, for instance, that a man and a hooker who have just met are still able to fall so deeply in love that they're willing to kill for one another.

You have to believe that a man in a foreign country, without a job or any other source of income, could walk away from twenty million dollars of mob money that no one would miss anyway. I mean, really -- would you?

Jonathan McQuarry, a meek accountant, stumbles into a sex ring that changes him from his mediocre existence to that of a man that has known the real thing. His lawyer friend, Wyatt Bose (Wherever do they get these names from, it's beyond comprehension) has something else in mind, he wants to use McQuarry for his own personal enrichment. For that, Bose devises what appears a flawless plan in which he will become a millionaire. Little prepares him for an ironic twist in which his best laid scheme will backfire.

Directed by Marcel Langenegger, who used to be in advertising, the film doesn't live up to its promise. There are many false moves that makes the viewer think something's wrong from the start. Written by Mark Bomback, who was responsible for the Bruce Willis' vehicle "Live Free or Die Hard", the movie relies on the viewer's willingness to go along with a premise that makes not much sense. Mr. Langenegger, working with Italian cinematographer Dante Spinotti, gives us a film that is full of dark colors to emphasize, perhaps, the erotic tone of the earlier part of the picture.

Frankly, the two leads, Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor, don't bring any excitement to their characters. Mr. Jackman is not convincing as the sneaky Bose, and Mr. McGregor, who shows up with a terrible makeup, is a mousy man who discovers sex perhaps too late in life. Michelle Williams, whose name is S, plays a role that will not add anything to her otherwise interesting career. Charlotte Rampling, on the other hand, is about the best thing in the movie. Wow! She can teach the other actresses a couple of tricks effortlessly, but alas, she's only seen too briefly.

I just watched Deception, and again, I really wasn't expecting that much from it. In fact, I really wasn't expecting anything in particular; I had absolutely no expectations for this movie. I didn't think it looked terrible, good, or average. I just thought it'd be worth a watch. And, overall, I thought it was worth a watch, but not much else. It's a good movie to see if you're bored one night and decide to just see whatever.

One reason I was kind of intrigued by it was because I had this weird feeling that it might be an interesting movie kind of like The Prestige, even though the only connection these movies have is that they both star Hugh Jackman, and they both involve Hugh Jackman and another guy going up against each other. Obviously, it's nothing like that, but whatever. I figured the movie would at least be really thrilling and I thought it would have some really unpredictable twists and turns along the way. Honestly though, there's not really a single thing in this movie thats surprising. Not once did I say to myself as I was watching it, "Wow, I didn't expect that." Because I pretty much did expect everything. That's not to say it's a bad movie. It's pretty entertaining, but it's just not as good as it could have been.

Ewan McGregor plays kind of a nerdy, shy accountant who one night meets Hugh Jackman's character (Wyatt Bose), a suave, kind of wild Wall Street-type guy who's pretty much the complete opposite of McGregor. Through a series of events, McGregor's character ends up with Jackman's cellphone, and he receives a call from a woman who asks him if he's free for the night. He meets the woman, and through another series of events, he gets caught up in this sex club where he calls random women in Bose's phone, getting together with them to screw them. The rule is that there's not supposed to really be any conversation, not getting-to-know-each other, and they're not supposed to know each other's names. They just get together for one reason only: To screw each other.

Of course, Bose is not who he seems to be. There's something about him, and you already know that right off the bat. Eventually, McGregor's character meets up with a woman (her name's never given, it just starts with an S) that he falls in love with and cares for. Of course, things start to unravel, and Bose reveals that there's more to him than what he puts out.

The sad thing is that you know what every character is going to do. You know what twists the movie is going to take, and you pretty much know how it's going to end. You know every step the movie's going to take, and because of that, it's not exactly thrilling or suspenseful. Bose's motive for doing what he's doing isn't predictable, but it just leaves you with a feeling of "That's it?" You expect there to be much more to the story and to Bose's motives, but there really isn't. It's like, it's not horrible, it's not good, it just leaves you thinking, "That's alright, but that's it?"

Of course, the movie's full of sex...which means it's full of nudity. A bunch of gorgeous, hot women get naked for the camera, and it's pretty damn sexy. Just thought I'd point that out.

The movie was entertaining, and it was made pretty well, but it could've been a lot cooler. It was really well made, the actors were good, Hugh Jackman's character was the villain, but he was really likable, they could've made it more suspenseful and they could've put some better twists in there, but whatever. I enjoyed it enough. But you're pretty much gonna see every single twist and turn a mile away if you go see it. Regardless of that, it's still a nice, solid movie. But eh. Go judge for yourself.

Score: 7 out of 10.

It is hard to imagine that Hugh Jackson or Ewan McGregor would sign on to this movie with such a horrible ending and a bunch of impossible parts that just don't seem feasible.... hitchcock would be ashamed of such a ripoff.

Spoilers.... In one day Ewan's character manages to not only get the service guy to open his room instead of him, but also.. here is the kicker, manages to also get a fake passport made and fly to madrid.. but the worst part is that..after he admits to knowing that the girl was in on the scam.. he drops not only his half of the money.. but both.. .and so does the girl... and thus a totally hard to swallow ending. Great to imagine people put Love above money..... but not in this scenario.

I give it a 4 for being such a flop on the mcguffin and twists.. but great actors. what a shame the script sucked!

Well, this movie certainly has its moments. Sometimes you're sitting there praying for it to freaking end, and other times you're completely absorbed into the movie. Now, in Canada, this movie is rated 14A. Considering that the first, oh, forty five minutes to an hour of the movie is basically porn, I can't help but disagree. If you're not prepared to see McGregor's fluffy chest, don't see this. So, after awhile of squirming uncomfortably, the movie finally begins to draw you in. I'm not going into details of what the movie is about, but there are plot holes abound. Many things make negative sense. For example, how can someone shoot someone else in the middle of a street in Madrid not only without anyone noticing but from a straight angle when they are standing at a far diagonal? How did the passports get made up so quickly? HOW did McGregor not die in that one scene? That made no sense at all.

Overall, it's an all right movie when you're watching it, it's amazing when you're pulled into the story, but reflecting on it later and realizing all its flaws makes my personal rating of it drop. It takes WAY too long to get into the actual story, McGregor goes through hell and back to get this girl who he met twice, there is way too much porn stuff, the ending is atrocious...but my word, the middle of the movie is just fantastic. If you're a fan of McGregor and/or Jackman, go rent it or something because they both do a good job in it. If you're not a fan of either of them, what is wrong with you, McGregor is fantastic.

Deception: an unusual kind of movie that involves sexuality, mystery, pleasure and urban life. The idea of having a sex (and anonymous) list has already passed through everyones head I suppose. For big urban cities it should work perfectly.

Despite that, the movie is entertaining and mysterious. We don't know what to expect from the characters and what is gonna happen. I doubt anyone here before watching already knew that Wyatt Bose was gonna be a bounder like that. I thought he was a McQuarry's illusion. Also, this kind of remembered me of "Perfect Stranger" - a bad movie, unlike "Deception".

You guys may not believe, but when the "S" girl asked him to guess her name, I instantly thought in my head "Simone". I swear, I have no witness but in my head I know I'm speaking the truth.

Summing it up, this film is truly entertaining and the sex list may had caused some problems to the religious audience. To me, it was nothing but an excellent idea.

Dumb main character! DUMB! Im sad that he wasnt killed or arrested earlier. Dumb. And what idiot leaves $20 million on the ground?! Lol. He did! HE LEFT IT! This movie was annoying to watch! The Lead actor kept making dumb mistakes and I just lost respect for his character. Also, it was very annoying to hear him whining and freaking out. But let me join that sex club. I dont want charlotte rampling but 2 of the "list girls" were attractive. This movie was dumb. Lol. Had potential. How did they approve this movie?! The writing should've been slightly better. They'll approve anything, if the cast and other people have enough power. I've heard of quality projects that weren't approved. Wow! They need to do better with approving scripts.