Overrated but OK

Rating: 6/10 (29 December 2007)

There's no doubt that "Lost In Translation" is a "good" film. However, i definitely didn't like up to the amazing word of mouth I have heard about it.
Simply put, it's just not directed that well at all. For one, there are many parts of the film in which nothing "happens" and many empty stretches where what you see is nothing more than space filler. Some may see this as "artistic" but there are ways to do this and keep the viewer interested. Sofia Coppola fails to do that here.
She also fails to get the most out of the actors. While Bill Murray pretty much saves the picture, Coppola just doesn't get that much out of him or Scarlett Johansson it seems. Scarlet looks absolutely amazing so that helps, and she does well, but it just seems that a better director could have gotten more out of these two. They do fine, but both would have been better under someone else more capable. Murray, who is absolutely fantastic in "Groundhog Day," just looks way to bored in certain scenes. He does drama very well, but he's not *that* good, leading me to believe he was bored as hell making the movie.
The plot moves along very slowly and grudgingly, as if the movie really doesn't want to make the effort but because there are people in the theater (I think?), it has to show some sort of progression. It just seems very forced. This is where Murray and Johansson save the film, despite not being used to their fullest extent. They even save some completely useless and silly scenes, like the one in the stripper bar with that ridiculous song playing.
The film tried to be a "thinking" person's film and would have succeeded have done properly. It still managed to be a good film, but in no way does it come close to some of what I had heard about it previously.