Good but still short of great

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2006)

This movie had all the makings of being great but just didn't quite make it. It's hard to say why but I will try.
1. The main actors and some lines are a little awkwardly place and timed, let's say unnatural.
2. There's a little too much, as if reality isn't bad enough and we have to exaggerate to be taken seriously.
3. The ending is too Hollywoodesque and easy 4. It's made to be cool but you can just see and feel they have to try to keep it that way. Caine was the only one who pulled it off. 2nd best was the cop-dealer.
5. The movie oftest managed to bring in emotions subtly but that delicate gift was disturbed by being alternated with scenes telling you how to feel.
I think a little more work on the editing might have solved a lot of these quirks.
A very memorable experience but nothing revolutionary, take away the special effects and it's just a smart piecing together and concentration of current events (you could make an alternative version by editing newsreels.