Underwhelming, but has its moments

Rating: 7/10 (15 October 2014)

I didn't hate this movie, but I can't say I really liked it either. I hadn't read the book, but I was interested because of David Fincher. I wasn't disappointed, just more underwhelmed.
The issues I had mostly lied with the movie wanting to be too cute and clever with all of the twists. It was like the movie took turns just for the sake of it and on a few occasions they were just absurd. The casting of Neil Patrick Harris didn't work for me. It's nothing against him as an actor, that's just not a role for him. He just felt uncomfortable and out of place in this film. Last but not least this thing really needs a trimming. Easily 20 minutes too long and maybe even 30. It really didn't know when or where to end. Just when you thought it was closing they added on another 10 minutes. Some of that trimming could include some ridiculous scenes like the library sex scene or the TV news sequences of which there were way too many.
I can't believe I'm going to type this next sentence but a bright spot of this film wasTyler Perry. That is the first and last time I will ever give Tyler Perry any type of recognition, but he was quite enjoyable here. Rosamund Pike did put in a great performance, probably worthy of an Oscar nomination. Her voiceovers that appear throughout the film are chilling. As for Ben Affleck, I really don't really have an opinion one way or the other. He bothered me at times in this film especially in the first act. Although the "smiling" incident next to the missing poster was morbidly funny for me.
Gone Girl will most certainly be up for awards, all the parts are there for this to be an Oscar nominated film. It's not a bad movie by any means, but it's nowhere near Fincher's best work. While I'm hearing that they stayed very true to the book, maybe that's not always the best thing. Gillian Flynn wrote the book and the screenplay so it's easy to understand that she wanted to mirror her source material, but I felt like Fincher really didn't put much of his spin on this film. Which could be why I was so underwhelmed.