ajgwilliam

Judging this film purely on the end product because enough has been said about the tragic circumstances in which it came to be - and in many ways it's a fitting tribute, as the excellent cinematography is far and away the best thing about it.

The plot is a very average rotation of encounters that veer between the implausible and the meaningless. Everyone is playing a stereotype, and none of them are doing a better job at it than the countless others that have pulled on those same boots beforehand.

Had they done away with around 1/3 of the characters and given those that remained some more substantive plot moments then it might have achieved its goal of making you care by the conclusion, but there are so many completely empty scenes that simply happen and are then forgotten for this film to not end up precisely the sum of its parts - empty and forgettable.

The Last Stop in Yuma County is some of the most fun I've had from a movie in years. This is a film that genuinely pulls no punches and delivers great performances, gorgeous cinematography and real tension right through to the final moments, putting it miles ahead of many similar but less imaginative takes on the 'heist gone wrong' formula.

I see a lot of people reviewing this film as a '7' with some throwaway comments and mild praise who seem to be overlooking the fact it's a debut directorial feature, was produced on a budget of $1 million, and that Francis Gallupi also wrote and edited the entire thing himself.

That is an absolutely outstanding achievement. I can't help but feel that if it had had better distribution at the box office then it would be much more widely known and celebrated, but I really hope it goes on to become a cult classic because it deserves nothing less.

Bravo Francis. Already looking forward to what comes next.

As most other reviews of this film have already stated, The Order is a solid-yet-unadventurous crime thriller with some very beautiful cinematography and convincing acting performances that will happily fill two hours but probably be forgotten in two months.

All of which begs the question - did the world really need a film glamorising a nascent white nationalist militia figure at this point in time? The Order's lines between hero and anti-hero are so paper thin that it's not hard to see a certain type of audience member finding this film every bit as 'inspiring' as the Turner Diaries themselves.

So, was it really worth it? Did this story really need re-telling at a time when we're all sitting on tinder boxes and sticking matchsticks up our asses? I would say, no.

But going by his previous films, I'm not sure Justin Kurzel actually knows how to make films that aren't about angry, violent white men.