Mixed Feelings

Rating: Null/10 (26 October 2003)

The movie isn't bad, but its not amazingly good. It moves at the pace of a rock on level ground, yet you're still somewhat interested. It just seemed like the script couldn't figure out where it wanted to go. Did it want to be a character study, a crime drama, or a mystery? There were also sub-plots that were completely unnecessary. I'm sure they're good in the book, but they screw up the flow of the film. I figured out the "twist" ending twenty minutes into the movie, but its execution was done poorly. The end didn't have a punch. This is probably because it seemed as though Clint couldn't end the film. It just kept going to some misplaced scenes and thrown in storylines. The acting is very good, Penn and Bacon especially, but good acting doesn't mean a good movie. On paper, the plot line seems very good, but in the movie it just isn't that engaging. It could've been done better. 6/10 or 7/10.