Relies too Heavily on its Plot Twist

Rating: 8/10 (21 August 2016)

8.0/10
People were constantly recommending this movie to me. I mean non- stop. And it makes sense. I absolutely adore Spacey, I love crime movies, I love plot twists, and I love Giancarlo Esposito (he's Gus from Breaking Bad. He plays the FBI agent). But alas, this movie didn't have the same spell-binding effect on me as it did on most people. Why? Because I totally called it.
I called it from the very beginning. And I'll admit, towards the end I said "oh, I'm wrong. I wonder who it really is." But at the beginning I thought it was going to be Verbal, and I was not at all surprised when I turned out to be right. How did I call it? Because it's goddamn Kevin Spacey playing the role. He (and Esposito, but he wasn't an option) was the only one in the cast who was good enough to pull of that role. So of course I called it. They wouldn't hire Spacey to just play a one-dimensional fool. They'd hire him to play a mastermind, with the guise of a one-dimensional fool.
People love this movie for the twist at the end, and I don't blame them. It works. It's a great twist. But since it didn't work on me, I can firmly stake my claim that this movie is very little without its plot twist. It's all in the story. Sure, Spacey is fantastic, and the camera-work is nice, and the writing is good, but really, it's the story that makes this movie great. And while I understand the importance of a good story, I am not alright with movies depending solely upon a plot twist that is obvious because of its casting.
After all, let's say this movie was full of nobodies, but Verbal was played by Jack Nicholson. Wouldn't you suspect it's him from the beginning? It's the same thing.
I understand I'm biased because the twist didn't work on me. But I'm also biased IN FAVOR of Spacey, so the way I see it, it evens out.