In the hands of a skilled writer who knew the value of brevity, this could have been half as long and acheived as much, cutting characters and subplots and being all the better for it. Even then, the ideas are unoriginal, except for one, which, if focused on, would have led to a completely different story. As it is, one must drift through the first 100p of slow-motion to arrive at a denouement that accelerates up to fast-paced but fails to surprise.