Long, Drab and Suspiciously Familiar

Rating: 5/10 (9 August 2011)

A poor man's Forrest Gump with an inexplicable gimmick tossed in, this really didn't need to be half as long as it was. All the major scenes seemed like window dressing while the dull in-between moments were stretched out for as long as possible. It had a few charming scenes and some legitimately funny bits (particularly the old man recounting his experiences with lightning strikes) but give any film nearly three hours and a huge budget; the law of averages says it's bound to stumble across a few of those by sheer chance. Many of the character moments were forced and stiff, and there was almost zero chemistry between Blanchett and Pitt to back up their supposed lifelong passion for one another. Wrapping the whole story up in the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina just felt cheap and needless. A real disappointment.