Good idea but poor follow-up

Rating: 4/10 (2 June 2008)

I thought of quitting this movie a few times. Acting is very shallow even ridiculous at times, characters more like actors rather than real persons, script is pretty bad in the middle. But the ending was good that's why I gave a four instead of a one.
I think Ben Afleck first thought the end and then reverse engineered it. And the whole development of the story is poor. The point where this whole thing went beyond belief is when the drug dealer supposedly phoned the cops for releasing the kid in return for money. At that moment, I thought why the hell should they meet in the woods, everybody knows everybody, where they live etc, they can call each other. So why the woods, then the obvious question why would the drug dealer call the cops instead of the private detective he spoke with and he knows well. Even acting on that scene seemed bad, including Morgan Freeman's. After that scene the movie sagged, and even the supposedly script twist of corrupt cops turn into good intentioned cops worked out poorly. But the ending was quite strong, deep and meaningful.
This movie can be an example of how a good idea can be turned into a bad movie.