The Fan

Director Tony Scott follows up his smash hit Crimson Tide with this disappointing strike out which follows Yankees fan Gil Renard's (Robert De Niro) growing fanaticism over new Yank slugger Bobby Rayburn's (Wesley Snipes) early season slump. I won't give any of the plot away (other than the obvious: crazed psycho stalks celebrity ball player), but you'll know every pitch this film offers before the wind-up. Of jarring note is the filmmaker's decision to go with the explicitly sexual sadomasochistic music of Nine Inch Nails on the soundtrack (in a film which has no sex). Even loyal thriller fans are likely to beg halfway through this mess: "take me out of the ballpark." Not recommended. (R. Pitman)