A friend had free movie passes to see this movie--and on my birthday, of all days.
That is two hours of my life that I will never get back.
The movie is a remix of Fatal Attraction, but the plot is nowhere near as edgy and suspenseful. As for the acting...I never expected much of Beyonce in the first place (because she can't act, nor can she speak very well), but I was so disappointed in Idris Elba's performance. A friend remarked that he was probably underacting in order not to overshadow Beyonce, and she was probably right. Still, his character was a caricature of a pseudo-thug from New York who moved up the corporate ranks and added a veneer of sophistication over that thug image. Stringer Bell, we hardly knew ye.
Even Ali Larter didn't come off as psychotic as she could have...perhaps because underneath her lines was the feeling that she was thinking, "What in the world is THIS crap?" Beyonce was a relative nonentity (albeit a well-dressed one), but I'm sure that she and her father bankrolled this movie in further misguided efforts to try and prove that she is a Serious Actress (not to mention a vehicle for further promotion of the House of Dead Wrong--excuse me, the House of Dereon). Too bad it didn't work. However, Beyonce fans and stans will faithfully flock to theaters and will loudly proclaim that she is the best actress since Madea, and should win an Oscar for her performance since she was "robbed" in Dreamgirls. I will give her this: she didn't completely suck as an actress in this movie, but she didn't really stretch herself as an actress either--but then again, she never has. At least she didn't play a singer of some sort in this one, so there is some progress being made.
My disbelief was hardly suspended in this movie. There were so many ways that the movie could have been beefed up to carry viewers on an emotional roller coaster ride, but the writers and directors chose to take the safe route. I'd strongly suggest that people wait for the movie to show up on regular cable programming, and not pay-per-view or view-on-demand.
