Denzel Washington brings Jeffrey Deaver’s brilliant detective Lincoln Rhymes to life in Phillip Noyce’s big-screen version of The Bone Collector.

Haunted by the moment he became a quadriplegic, Rhymes is an ex-homicide detective who is planning for his final transition, an assisted suicide, much against the wishes of his caregiver, Thelma (Queen Latifah).

When one of his old friends and fellow cop, Paulie Sellitto (Ed O’Neill) comes to him with a murder case which seems to hint that New York City may have a new serial killer on the loose Rhymes isn’t interested until he sees the forensic evidence documented by an officer hoping to transfer to youth services, Donaghy (Angelina Jolie).

Recognizing her innate ability to investigate a crime scene Rhymes recruits her to the investigative team, and the hunt begins even as the bodies begin to pile up.

After Se7en, every studio wanted a dark murder thriller. Paramount had picked up James Patterson’s Alex Cross to explore, and Universal grabbed Deaver’s Rhymes. Unfortunately, to date, this is the only film featuring the character.

What Noyce delivers is dark and gritty. It’s nicely crafted and packed with many recognizable faces, including Michael Rooker, Leland Orser, and Luis Guzman. Unfortunately, because of the casting you can also figure out who the killer is without even trying to piece the clues together.

That doesn’t mean it’s not a solid film, It’s entertaining, and dark, and I love a good forensic mystery with lots of clues and crime-solving and Rhymes, running everything from his bed is a fascinating character, and the way he pushes and manipulates people is very well done.

The film is tightly paced, and while some of the green/blue screen stuff isn’t great, the rest of the movie features solid performances. And if you really throw yourself into the film, the abductions and murders are really horrifying. They can get under your skin if you ruminate on them.

But watching Washington’s Rhymes and Jolie’s Donaghy work together, puzzling out clues while she goes out into the world to investigate, even as the pair clash with Police Captain Cheney (Rooker), is really entertaining.

There’s a really nice dynamic between the two characters, as they both deal with the losses in their lives by focusing on stopping more murders from occurring.

As fun as these films like this and Paramount’s Alex Cross films were, I think they would all work better as series, where the stories and characters could be explored more fully. Still, Washington proves once again what a stellar actor he is. And it makes everyone around him bring their A game.