No Consequences, All Rewards

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 2015)

The movie almost does a great job of making you question the society we live in, the integrity of media and personal moral compass. The key word is almost. The things I am about to point out, for me, really killed the previously mentioned message they were trying to send. Disclaimer: the very things I am about to discuss could be argued as what makes the movie great. But not for me. Matter of perspective. Extra warning, *SPOILERS AHEAD*
The build is slow. So slow. Right off the bat we are introduced to Louis as a criminal. A lot of reviews are mistakenly calling him the protagonist. No, he's clearly the antagonist, he just so happens to be the main character. We never get to understand his motives so throughout the movie I found myself asking "Why is he doing this?" Even more, I started asking "Why is he getting everything he wants?"
The score annoyed me. It's this guitar riff that sounds like it should be used at some peak inspirational and motivational moment. Instead, it is played when Louis is doing the most corrupt things. The music swells so much it is distracting.
Eventually, Gyllenhall's performance of Louis starts to feel flat. This may have been done on purpose. Louis is so methodical but he uses the same exact tactics every time. Since Louis never switches things up it becomes unbelievable that the people around him would continue to fall for his tricks every single time. This especially applies to Nina (Rene Russo). Speaking of Nina, it is not believable that any News Director or news broadcast would choose to air footage so graphic (the home invasion) for so long.
Here's when the movie completely looses it. Why wouldn't the home invasion suspect shoot Louis like he shot Rich? Both were filming. Then, proceed to walk past Louis to shoot at the cops. So he clearly had bullets left. It literally made no sense.
Out of chronological order, but next on the level of what bothered me the most. He gets a fleet of vans and employees. No filing to become an LLC, no getting and EIC number, nothing that goes into being an actual business. Just suddenly has a fleet of vans.
FINALLY, the most annoying, he just walks out of the police station at the end? Come on now! He's a suspect to obstruction of justice and accessory to murder. Why wouldn't they get a warrant on his computers and equipment? By the climax of this movie I was hoping that Louis would be killed. Instead, this character suffers absolutely no consequences. NONE! THAT is what killed this movie for me.
I give it a 7 for the way it was shot. And because it lingers with you, which means the character was executed correctly. That's what a director would want. Also, it's not the worst movie. It's not the best either.