Directed By: Doug Liman
Written By: Casey Affleck and Chuck Maclean
Cinematography: Henry Braham
Editor: William Goldenberg, Saar Klein, Brett M. Reed and Tatiana S. Riegel
Cast: Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Ron Perlman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Jack Harlow, Paul Walter Hauser, Toby Jones
Rory and Cobby, who team up to rob a corrupt politician but end up in a chaotic escape after the heist goes wrong. Pursued by police and crime bosses, they enlist Rory’s therapist to help them survive.
Considering the cast involved and the director, this film should’ve been much better.
While he plays like a perfectly good crime caper with a good helping of comedy. It also feels like it’s all over the place, especially totally as when it does try to be more action oriented or gritty crime incomes the more comedic elements out of nowhere and then when it’s resting on its more comedic elements, it’ll have the odd intense action sequence.
Also, with its full cast, it feels like most of them are guest starring in the main plot like this is an ongoing series as very few remain throughout the film and only seemed to be there for a senior or two before disappearing and are quickly forgot not that they’re bad in their roles but again there just doesn’t seem to be that much significance for them even though they are just a piece of the puzzle
So that our main stars Casey act like who also who wrote the film and Matt Damon just seemed to be too strangers thrown into this caver together that ends up being more of a buddy comedy as they are different types of thrown in together just trying to survive all of this. Representing their hometown
Now this should’ve worked, especially as of course, representing its location of Boston and the characters in the neighborhoods of that town but the film just feels a little too quick paste. It never seems to quite slow down for you to get a grip on what is happening or what has happened. So it’s hard for you to get your bearings, even though it shouldn’t be that confusing.
It just seems to flash here in there in the editing, intense not to focus on anything so it even feels faster than the classic 2000s MTV flash editing which only reminds you that this feels more like content more than an actual film. Which might be the result of having four editors on this film, who each might have been aiming at something different. Asbeverything feels so disposable and familiar even when trying to put a new spin or at least anspin on certain conventions.
Again the leads and cast are likable enough. You just wish that this was a film that wasn’t afraid to take its time had more consequences and was quite a bit tougher as the film is more comedic and not darkly comedic more just comedic.
It has spectacle when the film should’ve been more detailed, smaller and tighter. Noah tries to be gritty. It comes across more as a Hollywood production. Then it should which throws all credibility out the window and turns it more into a romp.
there is a certain irony that lays throughout the film whereas Casey Affleck is a best actor Oscar winner here playing more the co-lead and being more comedic or as Matt Damon, who is more thought of as a serious actor is playing the more serious role here and while he has more prestige, he does not have an Oscar for best actor, even though he does have an Oscar for writing. Yet Casey Affleck who has the acting prestige is the Co-Writer here.
This obviously isn’t there first pairing on screen they have paired up in various projects, but this is the first time where they’ve been costars as a lead in a more comedic, an original production of their own as they were in the film GERRY as costars, and also really, the only leads in that film, as well as one of the only actors in that film
The film has come across as the type of body crime caper comedy that felt more at home in the 70s and 80s try some modernize it, but it has way too much going on for it to truly ever be centered or quite understandable
Grade: C
