A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Nobody expects this to be a blockbuster, but it IS worth a watch for Belushi fans, and for those who like a very challenging plot. The budget for this film may not have been large, but it does present some grand, upscale homes and mansions, and beautiful south Florida and Keys scenery. Jim has these cop/detective roles nailed, both as "good guy" and "bad guy". Here, he floats back and forth throughout the entire film. Unbelievable, twisted, convoluted plot? Absolutely, but this is intended to be entertaining fiction. Watch it from the beginning, give it 15 minutes, and you may well be compelled to finish it.

If so, you'll like "Traces of Red", a murder mystery in which Belushi plays a cop hot on the trail of a serial killer in Palm Beach, FL. Though the flick misses the sweaty Florida noir atmospherics of "Palmetto" and "Gold Coast" and dishes up a convoluted, not-to-be-taken-seriously plot, it does feature the same old likeable tough guy Belushi in his slimmer days. Good stuff for Belushi fans. Marginal, mediocre escapist stuff for everyone else. (C)

Overheated but good-looking and fairly entertaining murder mystery that will probably please most whodunit fans, despite (or, for some viewers, perhaps BECAUSE of) its overly convoluted plot, which may even demand a second viewing to get completely straightened out in one's head. James Belushi gets to show some ambiguity that's rare for him, but Lorraine Bracco's femme fatale is a barely sexy disappointment. (**)

A homicide detective in Palm Springs tracks down a serial killer whose victims are all somewhat linked to him.Crushingly boring, inextricably muddled and casually performed attempt at film noir, in which the killed victim tells the story, a la "Sunset Boulevard". The characters are so dull and dislikable, that by the time the final tricky twist comes on display you scarcely care.