A mediocre effort with the cast giving the Midas' touch

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2015)

Okay. There are probably a thousand movies with the same plot, the same character build-up and the equally probable climax. All due respect to the director, but there is no fantastic direction that takes this movie to a whole different level, a good different level. The screenplay is ordinary, the photography linear, the direction, if not great, but very textbook. Plenty of fights for the action junkie to get high on too, and a lot of clichéd drama coupled with it. And this is not why this movie is different from the rest of them.
But for the acting, this movie would have been lost in time as another one of the fight movies that hopes to pump up the audience and earn some big bucks. Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte have poured their hearts in this mediocre piece of work. There was not much character development available to these actors, but it still turned out to be great, and only because of their exceptional acting. Joel Edgerton's character was probably the most complex in the entire movie. And he played his part to perfection. There was so much heart in this movie, you actually will begin to care for these characters, so much so that you will cheer for them, and not because you are on an adrenaline rush from all the punches. Hats off to the entire cast, for this was indeed a miraculous, once-in-a-while acting work.
A must watch, and much appreciable work. One of the best that 2011 has churned out.