There are just enough good parts, twists and good acting to make this film worth a view.

Rating: 6/10 (5 October 2014)

Gone Girl is Lost and Barely
Alive Question: what is the obsession with calling grown women 'girls'? Even grown women call women girls. Why?
Gone Girl is not a complete waste of time. It has an interesting but poorly constructed plot with many inconsistencies. Moreover, there is also not enough back story for the main relationship for us to understand the plot twists at the end of the movie.
The filming and cinematography are adequate, but not Oscar nor high-praise worthy. The construction of the plot elements was well thought out, but the unevenness damaged the time-line. The way the married couple meets is awkward, irritating and unrealistic. Frankly, it's phony and embarrassing. There is no chemistry between the characters at the beginning and there is no hint of what would happen in the future of their relationship in their meeting. A little foreshadowing would have done the plot a lot of good.
Luckily, the story picks up when Detective Rhonda Boney, played by Kim Dickens, enters the film to investigate the crime scene. She is the best actor in the movie followed by Patrick Fugit, of Almost Famous, who plays second fiddle Detective Nick Gilpin. Rosamond Pike is at times brilliant but not always believable as Amy Dunne and Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne is flat. His best acting is when Mr. Dunne is called on to act the phony. It's sad that Affeck's best lines are when he plays phony. Carrie Coon as the twin sister Margo Dunne is much better than Affleck. Pike does the best with her awkward lines, so props to her. Tyler Perry proves that he should do more serious roles, perhaps as a lead as in his Alex Cross films. How Neil Patrick Harris got into this film is a wonder. He is only under-acted by Affleck. Suffice to say, the cast got little help from an at times hackneyed script.
The grand plot twist at the beginning of the second act was predictable. They did play this twist well, until a supposedly clever and brilliant character does something incredibly dumb. Smart characters doing dumb things doesn't fly with me.
Rating: Matinée
There are just enough good parts, twists and good acting to make this film worth a view. The plot is fascinating, but played poorly. Unfortunately, Ben Affleck could not portray the conflicted nature of his character to make us believe his actions. The film needed a better lead, such as Josh Brolin (only for years the senior of Affleck), to make it work. Affleck only has his looks to rescue him, but no one is that good looking. Moreover, if the relationship's beginning had been left out of the film and more about their marriage years put in the movie, it could have been a better film.
Peace, Tex Shelters