shows the increasing personal detachment of our modern society

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2009)

Very slick film satire that tells a lot more about increasing personal detachment and heartlessness in the modern workplace than how companies do anything possible to avoid any unpleasantness associated with firing workers, although it did show the latter to nearly the most disgusting level possible. I did not like the movie's subject at all, but that huge negative alone should alert any critic to be very careful to make sure the story negative does not taint an honest review of the total film. This is a crummy topic told and shown well in this film and should be seen as much for its satire of craven human heartlessness and shallowness as much as for its entertainment value. My hope is that the former will teach you more than the latter.
George Clooney, that smiling charmer, did a wonderful job as Ryan the star terminator, contract-firing everyone in sight while showing that selfish, facile, shallow and a big smile do the best work in a dirty and dully repetitive job(involving lots of full airports)that most people would avoid like the plague, and one that would quickly emotionally execute anyone with real human feelings. Anyone like Ryan who would say that firing is a prerequisite for possible world fame and power later is surely unclear on the emotional concept at least, but for Ryan it made it almost a plus to get fired as now the really big things in a person's life could begin! The old switcheroo gets them every time! Huh, what?
But, when Ryan finds that his company plans to initiate video-termination(hey, a new video game?)instead of flying contracted people around to do that dirty job in person, he gets angry(maybe for the first time in his life? Remember, he's shallow)and expresses his disapproval but also his willingness to show them it won't work which he does with a vengeance. Along the way he gets to give a smarty-pants and uppity company newbie her comeuppance, find a hot but morally vacant female counterpart to play with for a while, and in the end get to continue what he does for a living as if nothing ever happened. From what I've seen of life, nothing really does happen in life to change shallow and emotionally bankrupt people like Ryan. And, we have all known some, and more's the pity for that unpleasantness.