Solid movie, liquid performances, eventually turns to gas.

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2008)

I watched this movie without reading any of the reviews. The moment I saw anything relating to the title, I looked away. I clicked through. I didn't want to have any preconceptions about the movie other than 'it's a good movie' The film starts off really well. There's pace, intrigue, excitement and large dollops of uncompromising gore and some moments of genuine tension. All the hallmarks of a great movie. The the cracks soon begin appear and suddenly, the cracks are so wide, elements of the movie and some characters fall right through them. The sinister Anton becomes almost supernatural in his ability to defy the law.
It's not the law, well represented by Tommy Lee Jones, that Anton escapes from, it's the laws of physics: For every reaction there's an equal and opposite reaction, except in Antons world, with his crazy, cumbersome 'swiss army knife' of a weapon. Is there anything Anton can't do with that thing ? Speaking of weapons what's up with the the silencer that didn't .. Silence ? Why wouldn't a burst of sub machine gun fire be heard in one motel but be heard half a block away by in another motel ? Why does Llewelyn ... oh, never mind, after that shock the movie is all but over.
Avoiding the obvious ending was probably the worst idea ever. We were robbed ! It's as if the Cohen brothers couldn't decide how to finish their magnificent wild salmon of a movie, so they just left it flapping on the riverbank, gasping for air. A missed opportunity to give what could have been a classic movie the ending it surely deserved.