Hated it at first.

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 2003)

When I first rented this movie I really hated it. I was expecting a cheap gorey flick, basically just a slasher movie. This was not so, so when I read several reviews that loved it I wanted to know what the hell was wrong with everyone. I always made fun of it with my brother and we were pretty sure it was one of the top three worst movies of all time. I kept reading reviews on it though and the more I thought about it the more I decided I liked it. I thought this movie was boring at first but as I read reviews I realized that it was a bore because I was expecting something else. So, instead of just wishing to see it on tv, I took a chance on it again and it turned out alright.
This is not a great film, but it is hilarious and sometimes brutal. The way the director, the costume designer, and the actors captured the essence of the 1980s is very well done. This is not much of horror movie. He kills people, lots of people actually, and there are horror elements, but there is not one scary moment, and after watching it again this is just dark comedy. Christian Bale was good here although he overdoes it sometimes with his dialogue. When he really goes crazy he is atrocious but when he is a little more subtle about everything he is brilliant. The rest of the cast does very well here as well. Honorable mentions would be Reese Witherspoon, Willem Dafoe, and Jared Leto.
Problems with this movie are severe plot holes that I won't mention and the way the movie ends can be rather unsatisfying. Also, this movie loses a little bit of its pace and lags as it progresses towards the end. I'm not saying that it is totally unenjoyable but the first three fourths of the movie are excellent, while the last part of the movie is mediocre other than the shootout he has.

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Lastly, I didn't really like how the movie was just a big dream. I mean it is original but the way the movie is set up for the most part it is not a dream and then the last part sets it up for a rather confusing and intolerable conclusion. This is just my opinion on what the movie is, yours may differ.
Anyway, this is a good movie and although it has some obvious flaws in my opinion I liked it. I would certainly watch it again. 8/10