There's inevitably a problem when a director tries to meld stunning visuals with what's basically a pretty by-the-numbers story. Think Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER. Sure is fun to look at, but the film-noir retread script keeps it – in my book, at least – from rising to the level of a true classic. Unfortunately, the same fate befalls Tarsem Singh's great-looking, but been-there-done-that psychological thriller THE CELL.

Jennifer Lopez and her ass (which we only get to appreciate briefly in a scene where she's smokin' dope in her panties and tank top) star as Catherine Deane, a child psychologist with a unique ability. Thanks to this crazy contraption which looks like an inside out superhero costume and a moist towelette with a circuit board on it, she's able to venture into the mind of another subject wearing the same get-up.

Her main patient is a young boy named Edward (Colton James) who has been in a catatonic state for several years after something to do with seals. (There's some flashes of newspaper clippings when Lopez is getting high, but I wasn't paying attention, if you know what I mean.) Unfortunately, Edward's parents aren't happy with the progress and plan on yanking the funding, despite Catherine's claims that she's been able to connect with the boy.

Now, let's reverse gears one hundred and eighty degrees as Mark Protosevich's script introduces Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), a doll-obsessed serial killer who not only drowns his victims in a remote-controlled troture chamber, but also bleaches them, jerks off over their corpses, and then dumps their adorned bodies in shallow bodies of water. Then we're introduced to the gruff-but-lovable FBI agent on his trail (Vince Vaughn), his colleagues, Stargher's next victim, etc.

So, Singh is now forced to juggle this techy thriller concept with your typical serial-killer-on-the-loose garbage until the two clash head on when the killer flops into a coma just as the Feds arrive on his doorstep. Somebody has, of course, heard about the experimentation being done at Catharine's facility, we hook up the serial killer, and then play race against time as the psychologist tries to connect with the "killer as little boy" while the Feds attempt to locate the girl BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT!

Visually stunning, especially if you're watching it (like me) on DVD in widescreen, THE CELL is a treat for the eyes. It's just too bad that the diverse elements never come together as a whole.