tough call

Rating: Null/10 (28 November 2012)

The consensus on performance is "spot on"--there is not a bad performance in "Lincoln." In fact, they are stellar. DD Lewis can, on occasion, come off as a bit too studied and slightly transparent, but not often enough for it to matter. All the other roles are just spectacularly played.
However, and it is a big however, this film is often dull, insipid, and overly florid. I have several advanced degrees and can handle didactic films, however, Lincoln stalls quite often with verbosity that fails to entertain and drama that seems, well, a bit stagy. That is my take--there is a lot of room for disagreement here. But I think the bandwagon effect is propelling this film toward awards which from the vantage of performance are probably justified, but from the vantage of all other technical areas, is hardly justifiable at all. Journeyman work,yes, but inspired? Not at all. Despite my reservations, this is still a movie that most people will enjoy. It is very far from Spielberg's best("ET" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark")--fortunately, it is also very farfrom his worst ("Hook" or "1941").