Bale-out....

Rating: Null/10 (10 March 2007)

Over 800 comments, so I usually don't bother, but I must speak...
This is one of the more ungodly stupid movies I've watched in a while. From Bale's first line-delivery where he seems to channel Jim Carrey, to all of the blathering murder sequences (with endlessly needless dissertations on 80s music), I was fidgeting pretty quick. Then it totally lost me minutes later when he inexplicably stabs a homeless man and stomps a small dog to death. And this after both encouraging the man and then telling him what a waste of life he is. An anti-hero if I've ever seen one. The entire tone of this film is insanely awkward, at times seeming to be a comedy dealing with a self-absorbed narcissist, who happens to sprinkle in blood-drenched murders here and there. No, I haven't read the book, and no, maybe I don't get the "satirical" approach others love. Either way, it was just jumbled garbage. Bale is a chameleon of sorts, sometimes resembling Cruise or Hart Bochner, but that unbearable, irritatingly pompous voice grated on me pretty quick. Only saving grace is some great 80s period atmosphere, right down to a keypad on an ATM machine with the BIG WHITE numbers. Other than that, cultists will be sure to keep this alive and well for years to come.