Most Overrated Film of the Decade?

Rating: 3/10 (23 November 2007)

The "Incoherent Brothers" can go straight to hell for foisting this pretentious, boring mess on us! And maybe they'll take the scores of fawning critics, some otherwise respectable (et tu, Peter Travers?), along with them.
While I swore off All Things Coen many years ago (Fargo being their one, though naturally overrated, saving grace), I thought I'd give them another chance when I witnessed the flood of critical praise that followed the release of "No Country for Old Men", especially when this one was purported to be unlike anything the filmmakers had released to date. That's not entirely true, by the way. Style-wise, this film is really just a remake of Fargo, only more annoyingly executed.
So what's the problem? For one thing, all the damnable Coen trademarks are here: cloyingly hip dialog unlike any you'll ever hear in real life; subtle, and not so, deeper meanings permeating the script, just daring you to "not get it" along with the unwashed masses of simple film-goers who appreciate movies with a beginning, a middle and an end (What, you don't get the in-jokes? What an A-hole you are!); a camera that lingers on characters for interminable lengths of time while they drone on and on; a smattering of pointless ancillary characters that advance the plot not one single bit, etc.
Added to the mix is Tommy Lee Jones, as the stereotypical small town sheriff (How original!), playing the same Texas character he's tackled in any number of other movies, who does absolutely nothing but talk (and talk, and talk) his way through the film, spewing countless homespun aphorisms and stories about whogivesacrapall to his hapless deputy and anyone else who'll listen. Done to death years ago were the requisite interludes in films like these where a southern-fried character waxes poetic for several minutes at a time, offering the audience some symbolic words of wisdom designed to illuminate some plot point or other. But, as usual, nothing comes of it here, and the Coens do it to a fare thee well. (If I never hear another gratuitous redneck soliloquy in a movie, it will be too soon: "My daddy once said..." Oh, screw you!).
Saved from sucking completely, the film can boast of a creepy villain, played with subtlety and style by Javier Bardem, who reminds me of an understated Raul Julia. His performance is guaranteed to stay with you long after the closing credits. One wishes more screen time had been devoted to his unsettling assassin.
The greatest sin a filmmaker can commit is leaving the audience bored. The Coen brothers do that more than a few times throughout the course of this picture. Unnecessary attention is devoted to such details as an injured man dressing his wounds after a gun battle, and the aforementioned pointless monologues among characters, while the fate of the film's central character is decided off-camera, with a puzzling, and highly unsatisfying result for the audience.
Then, to make matters worse, and perhaps showing that the director doesn't watch TV, anyone familiar with the obnoxious and controversial ending of a certain popular cable show last summer will recognize the unceremonious way in which this film ends, leaving the theater's audience scratching their heads at the screening I attended. Pissing off your audience: Always a bad idea! What a shame. This movie had some true potential. Despite the few gripping scenes, the film lets it all slip away and squanders whatever promise it might have had. No real entertainment value here.
Maybe the Coens should join forces with the other siblings who have no business making movies--the Farrrelys and Wachowskis. Between the lot of them, perhaps a coherent script might emerge. They may need to start making movies separately, or pairing up with other people to see what fresh ideas might result from such a partnership.
I do know this: I've sat through my last time-waster from these guys, and I'd consider returning only when they've created something other than the same tired retread of their past efforts. Vaya Con Dios, Joel and Ethan!