Whisper Man mumbles and stumbles

Serial killers follow a familiar M.O. in The Whisper Man, made for streaming despite big-screen credentials.  Superstar Robert De Niro plays a retired police detective haunted by a past serial case and still searching for its last remaining body. Michael Keaton joins the mix relishing Anthony Hopkins territory as a brainy, manipu

lative killer. Co-stars Michelle Monaghan, Owen Teague, and Adam Scott have their share of film credentials, while Director James Ashcroft earned suspense horror creds with Coming Home in the Dark.  Add best-selling author Alex North to the mix, and The Whisper Man sound promising for anyone who likes watching the psychology, thrills, and skills it takes to hunt and catch a human monster. But despite the right ingredients, The Whisper Man fails to fully gel. Problems come from story elements, with Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer changing a few of author North’s logistics and dropping helpful character development, shortchanging Monaghan about what drives her character. And while author North creates compelling, page-turner books, he draws from a familiar pool of plot devices. As in Silence of the Lambs, police seek answers to current crimes in the past through q-and-a sessions with a killer imprisoned for older murders.  Movie shortcuts make action look more exciting by having smart people ignore sensible safety precautions. Thinking back on the story leads to a few disconnects and wondering “wait, why did they do that?”  Yet The Whisper Man avoids disaster. It offers sufficient thrills and strong enough performances to remain watchable, a passing bit of suspenseful entertainment that keeps moving steadily on a flat and familiar trail that reaches no impressive heights.