Woeful Drivel

Rating: 2/10 (5 July 2008)

Like many, i was seduced by the trailers for this movie, the reality left me mind numbingly disappointed. Lead actors Will Smith and Charlize Theron, a big budget and a good idea should give any Director a good head start, Peter Berg squanders it all in an unimaginative disaster.
The script is cliché ridden and formulaic,and the "happy moon" ending vomit inducing. In trying to straddle the comedy, action and superhero genres it falls flatly on its "ass" (sic). The "action" sequences are occasionally quite disturbing for a uk 12a certificate.Now I enjoy my Peckinpah and Tarrantino along with the best. however the convention for this certificate film is that the violence is "comic book".
The opening sequence of hoodlums spraying a busy freeway, among which are chasing cops, with Uzi sub-machine gun rounds (several hundred a minute)is not Comic strip.The same is true when a Bank is held up and the robbers sprays the busy street with Uzi, heavy calibre machine gun and what looks like an RPG fire.Equally is having women and children wired up to Hamas style explosive vests funny? America has a serious problem with lone young gunmen and random massacres. The naive sanitization of these sequences helps no-one.
Supporting actor Jason Bateman looks as uncomfortable as the part is, as part of the "triangle" between himself,Theron and Smith. The use of the formers "child" for the most excruciating "kid" moments are frankly excruciating.
The cinema was pretty full, I heard no-one laugh out loud once. the idea of a "flawed" superhero is a good one. In the future it has the basis for a good film in the hands of some capable writers and a talented Director.