THE SON OF NO ONE

Channing Tatum and Ray Liotta

THE SON OF NO ONE (2011). Written and directed by Dito Montiel.

Young cop Jonathan White (Channing Tatum) was "involved" in two murders in the projects when he was a boy, and now his past has come back to haunt him. A newspaper reporter (Juliette Binoche) is getting notes from someone claiming that these two deaths were covered up and a cop is going to be in trouble. White tries to find out who is sending these letters, but his childhood buddy Vinnie (Tracy Morgan), who knows the truth, assures him that he's told no one. Then the reporter is murdered not long after White goes to talk to her ... This could have made an interesting thriller, but Montiel's meandering approach and mediocre script -- not to mention all the switching back and forth from 1986 to 2002 -- only add up to tedium. Ray Liotta and Al Pacino are wasted in the smaller roles of cops, while Tatum's performance, even when you consider his character is suppressing emotion, is at times borderline zombie; he seems clueless as to how to play the character. Even the most humble "B" movie from the forties is put together with more smooth finesse than this. Tatum was also in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Pacino had a supporting role as himself in Jack and Jill the same year.

Verdict: A poor excuse for a suspense film. *1/2.