Good

Rating: 7/10 (18 August 2014)

A masterful work that imbues you to it through its realism. The film is dark, brooding, intense and most of all depressing. It is hard to watch at times and difficult to call enjoyable, but the story is still powerful. Stallone's is not the restrained performance that the critics have described. All the characters struggle against a system that has perpetuated falsehoods. The trains of violence can't be stopped and their incessant movement brings about reactive forces in the people it affects. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them.