thesuthernman

Yeah, this movie's been made about a hundred times already. It starts off painfully slow and kind of awful, but if you can power through, it weirdly gets better. The real MVPs are the supporting characters-they actually have chemistry with the leads, unlike the leads themselves. Ashton has aged... debatably...and probably needs to gain weight...or something. Reese is exactly the same as she's been for the last decade-which, depending on your affinity for her, could go either way.

Thankfully, they're not on screen together much, which might be the film's greatest gift. Yes, it's insanely cliché, but the writing manages to land a few sweet moments and emotional beats that work. The supporting cast is what makes this worth watching (maybe Zahn was superfluous). Decent soundtrack, and the direction was tight and efficient.

The first half is a 10 and the second half is an 8. Unexpectedly fun film. The two leads are great together. The script is fresh and really great on character dynamics along with suspense. It's also beautifully shot and well directed. I could have actually enjoyed the film even more if they didn't have so much reveal and left it a little more mysterious continuing the trajectory of the first half.

It's hard to understand how Natalie Portman was awarded an Oscar. She's about as interesting as watching a banana turn brown. Maybe this film would have been redeemable with a different leading actress. The other actors are usually good, can't blame them. The script didn't help, but I can't blame the writing entirely. It seems to me, the folks involved with this production must have done it solely for the money. John looked as though he was trying really hard, but maybe the lame costar and lack of chemistry just didn't work no matter how hard everyone tried. Don't waste your time, unless you're doing something interesting while it's on in the background.