A slick performance

Rating: 7/10 (23 March 2018)

7.5
I anticipated finding this a bit of a eye-roller, but I honestly can't find much fault with this other than the fact that it wasn't entirely to my personal taste. It's slick, surprisingly funny, and quite rightly doesn't pull any punches. The casting is good - Reynolds is an excellent lead, and Ed Skrein really makes the best of what is unfortunately a rather dull villain character. The story is occasionally a bit thin, or just misses the mark slightly - possibly owing to the budget constraints, although these seem to have been approached creatively - and there is a tendency to slightly overdo the key elements of fourth-walling, quips, references etc. For my taste, it just missed a little something, but unusually for such a situation, I found myself really appreciating the way the film was put together. Frankly, it's a damn good piece of work, with enough invention to make it fresh without being cringey. It kept me guessing, I didn't look at the time once (always a good sign both of an engaging production and a good length), and I enjoyed myself a lot more than I expected to. Definitely happy to see more.