Release Date:
Friday, October 10, 2008
Directed by: Ridley Scott
The Skinny: Entrenched CIA agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes his living wading through terrorist-ridden shitholes in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. He speaks all the regional dialects, has befriended the locals, and basically spends all day in the line of fire. Unfortunately, decisions made by the head of covert operations Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe)a fat, suburban-U.S.-based techieoften come close to getting Ferris killed, and this, natuarally, causes some friction.
The Good: Although advertised as "DiCaprio/Crowe," this is much more Leo's movie, and he continues his steady and inexplicable rise to rock solid movie badass. But that's not to downplay Crowehe does more with Hoffman's few scenes than a lot of actors can do with a lead role (in one sequence, Crowe conveys so much about Hoffman's personality just by the way he walks). Director Scott manages to skirt too much preaching and delivers a tense, and gorgeously-shot, thriller. He's not making a "message movie," he's making a movie. Period.
The Bad: After a tremendous start, the movie slows down a bit in the middle and threatens to go off track. While it eventually finds its footing again, the final sequence (involving a kidnapping and a last second rescue) is a little too neat to be completely believable. But, again, Scott is delivering a thriller, not a documentary. So all is forgiven.
Live Strong: UK actor Mark Strong may not be that well known over here, but that should be remedied soon. He's great as a slick Jordanian Intelligence head, going toe-to-toe with Leo, and, also this week, he rocks the shit as a stoic hitman in RocknRolla.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Theater-worthy, for sure.
The Skinny: Entrenched CIA agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes his living wading through terrorist-ridden shitholes in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. He speaks all the regional dialects, has befriended the locals, and basically spends all day in the line of fire. Unfortunately, decisions made by the head of covert operations Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe)a fat, suburban-U.S.-based techieoften come close to getting Ferris killed, and this, natuarally, causes some friction.
The Good: Although advertised as "DiCaprio/Crowe," this is much more Leo's movie, and he continues his steady and inexplicable rise to rock solid movie badass. But that's not to downplay Crowehe does more with Hoffman's few scenes than a lot of actors can do with a lead role (in one sequence, Crowe conveys so much about Hoffman's personality just by the way he walks). Director Scott manages to skirt too much preaching and delivers a tense, and gorgeously-shot, thriller. He's not making a "message movie," he's making a movie. Period.
The Bad: After a tremendous start, the movie slows down a bit in the middle and threatens to go off track. While it eventually finds its footing again, the final sequence (involving a kidnapping and a last second rescue) is a little too neat to be completely believable. But, again, Scott is delivering a thriller, not a documentary. So all is forgiven.
Live Strong: UK actor Mark Strong may not be that well known over here, but that should be remedied soon. He's great as a slick Jordanian Intelligence head, going toe-to-toe with Leo, and, also this week, he rocks the shit as a stoic hitman in RocknRolla.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Theater-worthy, for sure.