The Watcher centers on an FBI agent struggling with inner demons and a serial killer who’s clearly off his rocker. It's peculiar that James Spader embodies the agent while Keanu Reeves portrays the killer, given how apparent it is to anyone acquainted with their acting histories that they should have switched roles. Putting the casting choices aside, Reeves seems to go through his part as if he were simply fulfilling a requirement – and according to him, perhaps someone even fabricated his signature on the paperwork. I’m inclined to doubt that story; however, at least Reeves has an explanation for his performance, however unbelievable it may be, which is more than can be said for Spader. It doesn't seem like much effort went into this film from anyone involved in its creation. Director Joe Charbanic and writers David Elliot and Clay Ayers treated the story with a repetitive formula. Each day begins with Reeves sending Spader a photograph of a woman, setting a deadline of nine o’clock that evening for him to locate her before she meets a deadly end. The next morning they repeat this same process. The initial instance fails to generate any tension because it's too early in the narrative and we already know Spader won’t be able to easily or quickly apprehend Reeves. Furthermore, the movie is so predictable and imitative—drawing inspiration from films like Reservoir Dogs and Blow-Up, among others—that there’s little chance of it surprising us at any point. And the subsequent repetition is even less suspenseful, as we've already experienced this scenario once before.

Source on TMDB