adonis98-743-186503 Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him. As his obsession increases, more and more similarities seem to arise. Jim Carrey's perfomance in 'The Number 23' is unlike anything we've seen him before and that i truly respect it i honestly do cause no actor can do comedy forever and Carrey proved some pretty good dramatic skills with this picture. Unfortunately for him the script was a mess and went from this to that so many times that became confusing plus way too slow and the twist? kinda meh. (5/10)

jaredpahl The Number 23 is a psychological thriller from director Joel Schumacher, and while the film contains an interesting premise and a juicy role for its star, it never coalesces into the taught adult entertainer it is trying to be.The story focuses on Jim Carrey's Walter Sparrow, a dog-catcher whose life is soon thrown into turmoil as he begins reading a book titled "The Number 23". The book seems to be based on his own life, and it details the seemingly supernatural aura surround the number 23. Through his reading, Walter begins to obsess over 23. The plot makes more than a few major leaps in logic in order to spice up Walter descent into madness. I won't say these logical forgivings are deal breakers. In fact, there are some neat ideas in The Number 23 (The hook about the titular number is at least mildly intriguing), but Schumacher and company don't do enough to mold these ideas into something entertaining.Jim Carey is the main attraction here, turning in a rare dramatic performance. Carrey has an excellent track record with dramatic material (The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), but here the focus of those three wonderful movies is not there. Walter as a character has no defining character traits beyond obsessive or psychotic. Carrey tries his best to energize the role, and he is the most interesting part of the film, but his performance is really nothing special and it certainly doesn't make the plot any less silly.I think Joel Schumacher is often unfairly criticized for directing the worst film interpretation of one of the most popular superheroes ever. Schumacher is a competent director and he can (and has) done great things when paired with good material. In The Number 23, he is lost. This film treads just too close to Lifetime movie territory. The emotional beats never quite hit, the story is clumsy, and the characters are foggy archetypes. The Number 23 has an interesting Jim Carrey performance and it made me look at 23 in a new way (which is something), but there is not much to recommend with this messy thriller.35/100

Chase Diedrich The Number 23 is a well-paced, cunning thriller that has you on the edge of your seat almost the entire time. With great performances by Jim Carrey and Virgonia Madsen, the story of Walter Sparrow, a local animal control officer, turns dark when he is bitten by a dog, making him late to pick up his wife, Agatha, in front of a used book store. Tired of waiting, she decides to go inside. She finds a book titled "The Number 23: A Novel of Obsession," written by a mysterious man that goes by the name of Topsy Kretts. After skimming through the book, she decides to buy it for Walter as a birthday gift. Walter, hoping it is a fun read, finds the sinister twists it has to offer, while implanting the number 23 in his head. He starts obsessing over the number, trying his relationship with Agatha, and pushing on his mental stability. This movie is geniusly created, showing close to no signs of 23 in the beginning, and toward the end, every small corner you may turn to, there is a new 23 just waiting to happen. From colors to the alphabet to dialogue, 23 is shown in every place it can.

SnoopyStyle Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) works animal control. Walter gets bite by a dog and late to meet his wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen). She walks into a book store and they find a book "The Number 23". He is captivated by the book about Detective Fingerling (Jim Carrey). He is soon obsessed with the number 23, the book and the author Topsy Kretts. He finds connections to his own life and the number drives him slowly into madness.Director Joel Schumacher may be trying to create a world of madness. All he actually achieves is an infuriating mess of a story. The movie is pretty lifeless. It's like trying to talk to somebody who keeps talking about the number 23. It's very repetitive and goes nowhere. I don't blame Carrey or any of the actors. The other world following the book and Fingerling is rather boring and distracts from the movie. This is simply madness.