Pretty engaging and enjoyable

Rating: 7/10 (6 January 2014)

I guess I'm not sure what the point of this movie was. It's tricky having a character who is so quiet. I guess it's better than vapid dialogue. But it doesn't create mystery by itself. There need to be hints as well, about the past, about feelings and choices. And there wasn't enough contrast between the main character and his surroundings. So he's not that interesting.
Anyway, the movie seems to imitate an 80s style or something. The hot pink running-writing titles, the plot and the electronic music all fit in with this. The violence is a bit over-the-top at times but also doesn't feel completely out of place. It makes things more interesting but I guess that's kind of messed up. It's strange why we watch movies anyway, it's very voyeuristic, fantasmer about what you would do in those situations. At least your life would be exciting, right? Even if bad things are also happening.
Most of the characters weren't very significant. Their motivations are typical. Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks all seem fine, but none of them had amazing dialogue or changes to go through. This is just a crime/chase/revenge kind of movie. The best aspects were the mood that it created (largely through music and cinematography) and the quality of some of the action scenes. They were generally exciting. The quiet moments had a unique feel to them so it wasn't boring. But then you can just sit outside and think about things and achieve a similar effect on yourself. It's not bad, but not that profound either.
You can wonder a bit about what the point of it all was but I don't think that there's anything there. It's just a ride, an experience. It's fine at what it does. But I can't help but think how great it could've been if it took some more interesting turns rather than being so linear and unsurprising. And if it made a statement or two and tried to mean something.