Well Told Story but, it seems, OVERRATED

Rating: Null/10 (6 October 2010)

An extremely well told story that would've dragged or fallen apart in any other format. It's very compelling and it certainly keeps your attention all the way through and that's no small task considering the subject matter and the fact that it's all depositions and flashbacks. There are remarkable performances all the way around. The reason this film stubs its toe is the fact that it's the story of a correctly labeled A-hole becoming the world's youngest billionaire. The opening scene delivers the line that people don't hate him because he's a nerd, it's because he's an A-hole. Then, the writers of the film take the next two hours to basically prove that point. They close with a line that says he's actually not an A-hole but is trying to be. Well, if a character tries hard enough, he is indeed an A-hole. And, it's tough to pull for or take a journey with an A-hole on screen. I honestly don't know if this tale should be taken as real life fact but as a film, it's hard to spend two hours disliking a lead even if the story is remarkably interesting.
It's a solid technical film and often quite smart but emotionally and sometimes as entertainment, it falls short. Critics and apparently some fans are blowing this film far in to the land of overrated.