Sometimes, satisfaction lies in getting exactly what you expect. That's certainly what happens with The Skulls-although the film also offers at least one interesting variation within the genre.
Luke McNamara (Dawson's Creek's Joshua Jackson) is a young orphan from a poor background who is attending an Ivy League college and wants to go to law school, but can't afford it. His only chance, he thinks, is to join the secret society The Skulls, which will pay his tuition. He does indeed become a member of this organization, but all kinds of complications arise with his girlfriend Chloe (Popular's Leslie Bibb), his roommate Will (Hill Harper) and his new 'soulmate' Caleb (Paul Walker).
The rest of The Skulls chronicles the completely predictable adventures of Luke in his attempt to deal with the society. It's everybody's paranoid fantasy-a small group of individuals who hold immense power in their hands, controlling everything from government to the judiciary to the police.
Nevertheless, The Skulls is an entertaining movie. Except for one glaring error (Why don't they copy the tape?), the screenwriting and cinematography are competent. The issue of class is raised enough to make the audience aware, but not too much to be overbearing.
And most importantly, Bibb doesn't give us the usual whiny and helpless female protagonist, but a courageous, principled kick-ass girl who completely holds her own against her male counterparts. Too bad there aren't any women's secret societies.
-By Norbert Schürer
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