Beware of Dog!

Rating: 4/10 (17 September 2005)

I used to think Andrew Niccol was a promising new director...that is until this film. In a word it is bad, for more reasons than I am willing to name in this space. I had a bad feeling early in the film when Jared Letto's character gives his brief but gut wrenching explanation of the "beware of dog" sign in his kitchen. It felt like a 14 yr old trying to be poignant. Which in many ways is what the entire film feels like. The film is primarily a poorly written yet sincerely acted drama...a bad combination. The worst part is when the film tries to be a dark comedy. Not because the comedy doesn't work but because it does. For various fleeting moments through out the films two hours (or so) it shines as a witty satirical take on the state of gun running. But unfortunately before you know it these moments are gone and its back to cardboard flat characterizations of pointless clichés that pass as characters. "Gattaca" was brilliant, "The Truman Show" (as written by Mr. Niccol) was amazing, "Simone" was misunderstood but ultimately flawed (perhaps the studios fault?). But no studio can be blamed for this waste of my hard earned $$