Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) is a working class college student struggling to come up with the tuition to pay for Harvard Law. He's an elite rower and hopes to be pick by The Skulls who supposedly pay for tuition. He's in love with Chloe (Leslie Bibb) but reluctantly to show it because of her family wealth. He gets picked by the Skulls and steal a rival mascot with Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker) as a test. They are put together as "soulmates". His membership in the Skulls causes a split with his friend Will. Caleb's father Litten (Craig T. Nelson) is the chair of The Skulls. Senator Ames Levritt (William Petersen) is a member. Will steals Caleb's key and breaks into The Skulls. Caleb catches Will. Later Luke finds Will dead after a supposed suicide. Detective Sparrow (Steve Harris) investigates.

Will's reaction to Luke after he got into The Skulls needs to be explained better right from the beginning or else it feels too abrupt. It's not like Luke didn't explain why he needs the Skulls. That scene almost destroys this movie single-handedly with the overacting. Luke is a much more compelling character if he's concentrated on the tuition. When he seems to be too greedy, he loses that rooting interest. Then it just gets too much and too ridiculous. It is an excessive story about excess.

This is one of those pretty entertaining-yet-not memorable stories. It's about a "secret society" in an Ivy League school and a subsequent cover-up of a murder. There is a neat little twist about a half hour before the end of the film.

The college kids in here are no-name actors but all credible not offensive or annoying. The film is nicely photographed. Apparently, the film was successful enough to spawn a sequel, so that infers this has enough going for it to check it out if you haven't watched it.

It's okay, but don't expect anything super. However, I have a good friend who thinks this movie is super, and he's usually very critical.

You know when a conspiracy theory - like Yale University's Skull and Bones student society - becomes true? When Hollywood makes a movie about it. Here's the real conspiracy. This movie is pretty much the 1970 made-for-TV movie The Brotherhood of the Bell. That said, this is where Rob Cohen met Paul Walker, so that's how this movie has ended up in the middle of our The Fast and the Furious theme week.

Walker is Caleb Mandrake, a name that only exists in movies, and Joshua Jackson is Luke McNamara. They're the two newest members of The Skulls, which prepares its members through war. It barely takes any time for this alignment to cause Luke's best friend Will (Hill Harper, CSI: NY) to stop talking to him. But hey - he feels like he needs an edge to stay with his rich girlfriend Chloe (Leslie Bibb).

Speaking of CSI, William Petersen plays the leader of the inner circle and Caleb's dad is played by Craig T. Nelson. They're powerful because of the group and will crush anyone who gets in their way.

Another conspiracy: this movie was shot in Toronto and not Yale. Imagine being from that city and seeing your landmarks all over this movie and someone saying, "No, that's really America."

They made a whole bunch more of these - well, OK, two more - that went direct to video. Rob Cohen went to Harvard, so he was probably in a group just like this that allowed him to keep making films after xXx and Stealth.

Someone on IMDB noticed this - and I thought it was funny - that every Skull gets a watch for their left hand. Which means they are all right handed. At least they don't show them masturbating in a coffin while other members watch. Not that I know tons of Skull and Bones stories or anything.