The Emperor's New Clothes

Rating: 4/10 (19 February 2008)

Like others have said, I was swayed by the ultra-high rating this garnered. It stars about 300 actors that I respect, and the Coen Bros - well, say no more!! But when it was all over, my wife and I were asking ourselves if our time might have been better spent re-grouting the bathroom tile.
The four stars I gave it were primarily due to Tommy Lee Jones, who does a better job on his worst day (i.e., this film) than on most actors' best. He's done this role several times before, and simply added a "burnt-out and tired" twist to it. Some of the down-home good ol' boy banter was fun.
But aside from that...
I don't mind letting reality slide if I'm watching movies like Star Trek, or Dracula, but I got the impression that this wasn't intended to be based on the supernatural. What was this gas tank that the murderer was carrying around? It managed to blow holes through deadbolts without his hand twitching. I'm no physicist, but most people should have a vague grasp of the "equal and opposite reaction" principle.
And while I understand that he had that nifty Radio Shack transponder, it did nothing but beep. But somehow it managed to bring him right to the correct hotel. And even without the transponder, he magically divined that Llewelyn Moss went to Mexico.
Woody Harrelson shared the same clairvoyance, as he was able to walk to where Moss tossed the money and figure out where he threw it. Agent Fox Mulder would have been impressed.
And as clever as Llewelyn Moss was, you'd think that once he found the transponder in the money, he might - you know - toss it out the window? Maybe on top of a moving truck? Nah - that would be cheating. And when the killer is standing on the other side of the door, he cleverly remains directly in the obvious line of fire. The only thing he didn't do was to yell, "I'm right here!"
I can only explain all of the high ratings on the fact that the Coen Brothers did the film, and they obviously can't do any wrong. If I didn't like the movie, it must be that I didn't understand it, and I'll be damned if I'll let the world know that I don't have the necessary depth to appreciate this obvious masterpiece.