It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Best movie of this year hands down!

A Brilliant Conflict

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

If you are a James Patterson fan you will probably not have a problem with the film; if you are more film and visual oriented, too many scenes will remind you of Hitchcock, and also "Basic Instinct"(even the soundtrack is exactly the same, and the initial camera angles over the San Francisco coast are TOO similar).Nicholas Jenks is possibly the narcissistic killer. Angie Everhart is surprisingly good as his wife.Tracy Pollan is not bad, trying a bit too hard; Megan Gallagher and Pam Grier are good, respectively, as the D.A. and County Medical Examiner. Carly Pope as a cub reporter is way over the top. Okay, they needed a younger cast member who could relate to the victims, but she is given way too much screen time. Also I seriously doubt that when there is a brutal homicide, a curious person can enter the hotel room, pretending to deliver flowers.Overall a little too contrived for audiences expecting more in this genre. 6/10

I love the comments that I'm seeing on this board. I totally agree with most of the people here that 1st to Die was horrible. While it stayed pretty faithful to the book, it was still inexplicably horrible. I can't believe it was 3 hours long! I was so mad at the performances, I couldn't even watch half of it. The book is spectacular like all of Patterson's novels but, like others have said... filmmakers have yet to make a decent adaptation of one of them... Mr Patterson, are you actually watching these movies? Aren't you mad at what hollywood is reducing them to? This movie was basically a sweeps ratings boost. You can't have it come out that fast and not think that. Sir, please ask these screenwriters... is it that hard to do this right???

Another wonderful Patterson book made into an incredibly awful movie. If the big budget movies don't work then why make a low budget made for t.v. movie that's 10 times worse! I am desperate for a good movie that will do ONE of his books justice!

I like Patterson and really enjoyed the book, so, I made sure to record this when it aired. I find skipping the commercials adds somewhat to continuity if it exists. Overall, I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it. It followed the book well enough to do it justice but did suffer some in my mind from missing elements. I missed the counter-point style of the murderer's perspective woven into the plot as well most of the character development. The women's murder club worked much better in the book and felt forced and phony in the movie. I also think moving to Seattle cost some atmosphere and would be a disaster for the sequel (Second Chance, another good read) if it's done. In the end, entertaining - yes; good movie - yes; great movie - no way. 7 stars of 10.