The Neon Highway

6.9 stars.

I suppose the story could have been great if perhaps they cleaned up the script and added a bit more consistency. Some of the pieces are missing, so the flow is off. It's like a chess game, missing a rook, the king and a few pawns. It would be tough game. This film can't make up for it. Maybe that's not the best metaphor, nevertheless, there is something missing. The song the story revolves around is pretty good when sung by the young lead male, but whatever rendition Bridges' character sings, cuts it off at the knees. It loses the spark that makes it modern and alive, and it feels more like a b-side from the 70's. The side plot, if that's what you call it, was good, with the two young guys talking and dealing with stuff. The movie starts off really good, to be honest, Bridges kind of makes it a bit of a bummer. I don't know why. Maybe he played the character too well.

Over and over there are huge gaps in the story. It almost seems like whole chapters of the script were lost, and the director said hell with it, just do the scenes we still have. Add the fact that the story is slow moving without justification. The only interesting part is the wholly unexpected "dues ex machina", and even that loses its appeal when it's absurdity hits you and you figure out it's the only reason the antagonist is given the job he has at the beginning of the movie. Finally, what's the deal with the autistic man who plays beautiful fiddle, but never does and doesn't figure in the story anyway, even though you are sure he wiil sooner or later? Very sloppy, poor movie.