Workmanlike and mechanical with no human chemistry

Rating: 2/10 (19 May 2006)

Another mechanical production from the hands of Ron Howard. I was worried when I heard he was the chosen director for this project and although its been well shot and tells the story reasonably well, the acting is mechanical and lifeless like all his other films. I'm sure he's a nice bloke but its somewhat surprising that for a lifelong actor, the acting is always his weakest element. There's some poor casting in my opinion too. Audrey Tautou,Alfred Molina and Paul Bettany didn't do much for me and were particularly poor. In fact Paul Bettany was the only 'over the top' character and slightly embarrassing at moments. Hans Zimmer's music was fantastic as always but it couldn't compensate for the workmanlike direction. A missed opportunity which would have been handled much better by another director. A shame.