Panic Room (2002)

David Fincher spends a reported $48M on a movie where most of the action is people arguing through a steel door. The camera is the showoff. It glides through floors, slips through a keyhole and floats down the stairs like a ghost giving a house tour, and it’s legit cool every time. Jodie Foster is strong as a mom out-thinking three burglars on security monitors, and a young Kristen Stewart holds her own as the daughter. Forest Whitaker’s Burnham is the burglar with a conscience and the most interesting guy in the house. The problem is the middle. Once the steel door shuts, the movie turns into a loop of near-misses: someone tries a trick, someone else counters, repeat. Jared Leto’s Junior is so loud and jittery that you’ll want a panic room of your own. It made $197.1 million worldwide. A 6.6 because the craft is top shelf and the story is a nice-looking game of checkers. $860.06 says you look at your bedroom closet tonight and start figuring out how many snacks it could hold.

What works: Fincher’s floating camera turns a house into a maze, and Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker give the standoff real weight.

What doesn’t: Once the door shuts, the middle settles into a repetitive loop of trick and counter-trick, and Jared Leto’s burglar is all noise.

Who it’s for: Thriller fans who love one location, a tight clock and bad guys working from a floor plan.