Another Bad Jolie Flick

Rating: 3/10 (3 January 2006)

This movie was one of the worst of the very many movies that I saw from this year. Sure it's passable as an action flick with some pretty good stunts and visuals. There's also a couple of chuckles here and there. These are the only reasons I gave it a 3 out of 10.
However, the story-line is ridiculous and the acting is awful. Brad Pitt's performance is generally not terrible, but it's never beyond mediocre. On the other hand, Jolie's acting is so bad that I wonder when she's realised as a box office killer - Look at all the flops in her filmography. Below, I have a list of movies she's in that I've seen, with my two cents about her and the movie.
Movies of Hers that I've seen...
Alexander - awful movie, which may be why she doesn't stand out as being particularly bad
Bone Collector - mediocre movie, Jolie's okay
Gone in 60 Seconds - everyone's bad in this one
Hackers - corny, but fun - her character was goofy, but so was everything else in this
Original Sin - BORRRING!!!! I thought acting was an emotive art, but Jolie doesn't seem to agree
Life or Something Like It - harmless tacky movie, I actually thought she's OK in this for what it was
Shark Tale - pretty good movie, her Lola character really isn't very memorable
Sky Captain blah, blah - great visuals, bad story, worse acting by Jolie and Law
Taking Lives - forgettable "thriller" with a very bland performance by Jolie
Tomb Raider I & II - she's awful in both of these movies
I know, the glaring omissions are Beyond Borders and Girl Interrupted. Generally good reviews for the former and she won an Oscar in the latter, but I haven't seen either one. Maybe my opinion of her as an actor will change based on these two movies. However, in the movies I've listed the movies have generally flopped and Jolie's performances are consistently bland. I appreciate an under-stated performances and a less-is-more approach to acting, but I can't give Jolie that. Honestly, I can't feel any effort to connect to the character is made by her, it smacks of just a paycheck performance.