It's another win for Joel Schumacher, though the story behind this film’s creation is fascinating—the original plans, who was supposed to direct and star, and what the initial budget looked like. The project began as a smaller-scale, darker movie intended to be shot with a handheld camera style, featuring Russell Crowe and directed by David Fincher; that probably would have been successful. Consider its planned release in 1999, a time when audiences were receptive to well-made, lower-budget films. During the nineties, viewers were willing to accept both modest budgets and darker subject matter. It had the potential to become as unexpected a hit as *Se7en*. However, Schumacher took over, lightening the tone, and Cage’s involvement increased the budget, leading to more studio input that further pushed for a lighter feel—a direction the director embraced. What could have been an excellent movie ended up being disposable fluff. Joel has expressed pride in it years later, but the writer ultimately gave up on the project and distanced himself from it. Andrew Kevin Walker penned the script; he's generally good at crafting stories, particularly when they lean toward a darker atmosphere. It could have been a somber, dark thriller with such an unsettling feel that it would linger in your mind for years—a film that unexpectedly burst onto the scene like *Se7en* did. Instead, it was forgettable and so unremarkable that I needed to be reminded I’d even seen it, and after just 15 minutes, remembered why I'd tried to block it out.

Source on TMDB