Within that 5-minute window

Rating: Null/10 (9 November 2014)

(Watched this one at the cinema on its release, but posting my previously-written review only now)
If this is a new genre, it's great that this is happening in this period, with newer actors taking on the mantle of the strong/silent archetype of the (anti) hero who tries to save the day. Gosling has joined the bandwagon, and this flick shares its DNA with the recent, underrated Dwayne Johnson vehicle, 'Faster'.
While that was about vendetta, this is more about low-life crimes, street heists, debts owed and what happens when collection begins.
But, the plot's a mere excuse for lotsa style, oodles and oodles of it on neon-soaked LA streets.
This flick looks gorgeous, and sounds fantastic, with Cliff Martinez composing retro-themed tracks throughout, and the numbers selected stay in-sync as well.
Gosling perhaps has 6-7 lines in all, and the less-is-more kinda approach works, like it does almost always, though it depends a lot on who;s being given that burden to shoulder. Needless to say, Gosling pulls it off.
Yep, the movie's gonna be remembered for it's look, setting, sound and Gosling. But no one's gonna eschew the bad-ass turn by one of Hollywood's most beloved dramatic as well as comedic talents, Albert Brooks. Coming off totally left field, he plays the meanest villain ever to grace the silver screen, esp. one who's been cast against type, and how. Partnering with the always-reliable Ron Perlman, Brooks chews every scene he;s in, and I'd like to say that he does it without even trying, in a bid to exaggerate, but that would be doing this thespian's talent a gross injustice, since he's taken pains to imbibe the nuances of the evil character he inhabits over here. And it pays off. It's a great movie, and though it's crowded with talent (not overcrowded) like Mulligan, Walter White (ahem, Cranston), Isaac and Hendricks, not to mention Gosling and Perlman, you'll only remember Brooks, who's fabulous and elevates the already heady material to greater heights.
Unfortunately, I got to watch this in a region where violence and nudity are a no-no, and in spite of watching a PG-version of this hard R classic, the other elements were such that I enjoyed myself nevertheless, and look forward to watching it in it's 'harder' glory. Definitely one for the archives, and something that will find its audience sometime or the other.