User Reviews

A true story movie that holds up. The storytelling in this movie alone makes it an intriguing watch, but the plot of the story itself is intriguing in a lot of ways. Worth a watch and worth a google search after.

The rhythm is poor; the splicing of various parts is a bit abrupt; there are too many narrations; it feels completely unworthy of this rating. Later, when I looked at the screenwriter and director, I understood

Aaron Sorkin writes and directs this adaptation of an underground poker entrepreneur's almost-tell-all autobiography. As Sorkin's style is typically very polarizing, I figured we might as well get his name out of the way first. He's got his fingerprints all over Molly's Game, especially (as ever) in the film's breathlessly snappy, long-winded dialogue. As a fan, I'll gladly eat that stuff up, though I'd rank this one near the bottom of his extended portfolio. It lacks the thick tension of A Few Good Men, the untamed energy of The Social Network and the relentless motor of Moneyball. In conforming another writer's work to the screen, Sorkin's writing feels restrained, less electric. It brings us one great, big, passionate speech - powerfully delivered by an impassioned Idris Elba - but there seems room for two or three more. A protagonist who's generally cold and unlikable, withdrawn and specter-like in her own story, doesn't make things easy on the first-time director. Molly is a complicated character that we never completely figure out. When she enjoys a brief emotional breakthrough near the film's climax, it doesn't quite feel like she's earned it. She has a few tough run-ins with shady characters and uncaring G-Men, but it never feels like she's seriously at risk. Things just always seem to turn out in her favor, which leads to a rather flat ending. It's an interesting story, and the plot is well-structured to keep audiences from feeling pummeled by the thick splashes of word soup. It avoids most of the major pitfalls of a film that revolves around Texas Hold 'em, too, though in fairness the game itself is never actually the focus. I liked it, I didn't love it.

It’s unbelievable that this “film” got so many good reviews. Film should show not tell. The incessant voiceover is annoying, and seems an extremely lazy way to tell what is a good story. There are some good scenes, but too few. A waste of good acting, too. I felt like I was listening to an audio book while looking at pictures for most of the film.

Insufferably pretentious movie. Obnoxious dialogue and annoying characters.

I really liked it. Exciting story about sincerity and honesty. Great cast that plays well too. Rather something for quiet hours and not too complex. -- Hat mir außerordentlich gut gefallen. Spannende Geschichte über Aufrichtigkeit und Ehrlichkeit. Toller Cast, der auch gut spielt. Eher was für ruhige Stunden und nicht zu komplex.

Jessica Chastain does a great job with this character and looks amazing doing it. I really felt sorry for the cruel way they treated the protagonist.

Molly's Game sin duda es una muy buena película, aunque siendo de Aaron Sorkin yo estaba vendido de antes de verla. Pero realmente saca a la luz todo lo bueno de Aaron como guionista, que logra hacer que lo que básicamente son sucesiones de diálogos y monólogos tenga un alma y un ritmo que mantiene el interés durante más de dos horas, y eso que como historia no tiene las grandes cosas que uno espera del cine que engancha: no tiene un gran misterio, no tiene acción, no tiene momentos tremendamente dramáticos ni una historia de amor. Y, sin embargo, funciona muy bien y consigue crear una película que engancha, que mantiene la atención, en buena parte también por el impecable papel de todos los actores involucrados, en especial Jessica Chastain que básicamente carga con la inmensa mayoría de la película sobre sus hombros. Así que no es una película convencional, y es muy Sorkin, pero a mi me ha gustado mucho.

Very interesting story and excellent performances bring this movie all the way to a 9 for me, Every part of the movie is very interesting and there are some great emotional moments; plus the identities of the unnamed people in the story are very interesting.

Really well told story and enjoyable movie........................................

Molly's game is interesting as a movie because it does two things: - it is conscious of its book adaptation throughout the movie - it tells a convincing story of a supposed truthful one. The pros: - half decent acting (from celebrity actors) - screenplay acceptible - lots of interesting timeline shifting (flashbacks mostly) - story is relatively good The cons: - most characters feel like stereotypes - for some reason, half the characters will speak monotonely and with long paragraphs, affects the acting a lot. - *incoming* fake psychiatric session scene - story/marketing said it was a true story, details are exaggerated during movie duration to help the movie as a drama - over-dramatisation, parts where events happen without explanation just to set a dramatic tone Overall, it's a good movie. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who enjoys cinematography, or acton flicks, or even political flicks, but it's an acceptible drama. This is definitely a movie intended for girls. There's very little in terms of stakes, there's a lot of weird "I can do it and men can't" scenes and scenes of "I'm hot and attractive so I'm irresistable to men" type stuff. Good feminist movie, feels overall like a "girl in a man's world" movie. So if you like that kind of stuff, this is not a half-bad version of that.

Enjoyable and competant biopic that benefits greatly from the performance of Chastain.

I had high expectations going into this movie based off the actors in it and the reviews and it blew me out of the water. What a great movie

The thing I liked most about this film was the amazingly talented Jessica Chastain as well as Idris Elba and Kevin Cosner. "Molly's Game" is a compelling story about a Olympic-class skater from a family full of success stories trying to live up. After a unfortunate and devastating injury, she decides to become a gaming entrepreneur and meets Player X whom Michael Cera plays excellently like Tobey Maguire and uses his "willingness to destroy lives" to hold high stakes gambling competitions that stand to make her alot of money. Its a very good film, the script is tight and full of quick dialogue and the performances are on point.

I’m sure there were some liberties taken but this movie has an all star cast and was very entertaining. Michael Cera does a good job capturing a face you want to punch, you know, just like Tobey McGuire. I agree with some of the critics that Jessica Chastain sounds like she’s reading the book to us. Still like it tho.

A phenomenally well-written Sorkin script, full of his trademark wit and snappy dialogue, complimented by two amazing performances by Chastain and Elba and an interesting, entertaining story adds up to a two and a half hour movie that doesn’t feel like it at all. It’s got a legitimately affecting emotional through line as well as more good laughs than some comedies nowadays. There’s an argument to made that this movie is overwritten or choppy in its storytelling, and I’d disagree, but I can see why people might say that. But honestly, even I did believe that, it wouldn’t matter that much to me. It’s so entertaining and so immersive that these (potential) flaws are insignificant in my mind.

Meet Molly. An unlikable, self absorbed victim of an insecure father that forced her into being an anti-social elitist that was struck a bad hand while competing in the olympics. When she closes the door on her father, she starts **** poker games. And then stuff goes wrong, she faces prosecution and suddenly a sense of pride and morality is injected into the movie that comes out of nowhere... So, Molly was pushed from an early age to be 'a winner' by her psychotic father. Even though this gives her acute scoliosis, it doesn't stop him from pushing her even further. Apparently, her brothers became succesfull through this treatment, and she is the black sheep of the family. I'm getting sick to my stomach just from putting this into sentences. Two hours into the movie it is suddenly revealed that her dad was ashamed of cheating on molly's mother, and that changed molly into something that hates the idea of a normal relationship. This pretty much drops out of nowhere as the first two hours are really just about Molly **** poker matches, and shows how rich this makes her. That, and Jessica Chastain had to do the entire movie with her breasts being pushed up to distract the audience from this weirdly written script. It seems like the movie doesn't know what it wants to be. Does it want to show how cool it is to get succesfull and rich in **** poker, or does it want to be some drama about psychotic personalities? Calling it entertaining would go way too far for me. It's an average movie. I give it a 6/10.

Extraordinarily compelling, Molly’s Game is a fascinating biopic about an Olympic-class skater turned gaming entrepreneur. The film follows the life of Molly Bloom, who fell out of competitive skiing after a debilitating injury and moved to LA where she got involved with underground poker and eventually struck out on her own and started running her own games until they were raided by the FBI. Jessica Chastain gives an excellent performance and is backed by a strong supporting cast, including Idris Elba and Kevin Costner. And writer/director Aaron Sorkin does a good job at explaining the inner workings of underground poker. Additionally, the flashback narrative structure helps to keep the film moving and builds intrigue. Molly’s Game is an incredibly captivating drama with an interesting story to tell and a positive message about standing up for ones principles.

This masterfully crafted movie really shows that a movie can be super entertaining and fun to watch even without action and with a narrative voice. The actors where outstanding except for 2-3 side character performances which where a little off. The directing was on to the details and the main this at all times the plot was executed perfectly and it was immersive and it had depth. There is almost nothing wrong with this movie. Very well done stunts with practical visuals and very good quality sound effects. Given the fact that this is a true story it's even better. The humor was not very funny but this was not a comedy so I cannot really discredit this part of the movie. This movie proved a lot of things wrong and the art value in this is really strong. So overall this is an amazingly done and cared for movie which has almost no flaws. Except the fact that sometimes the plot is so complex that for the general audience it will be hard to keep up. The ending and the message is really raw and realistic and somehow managed to dodge the cliche bullet.

Molly's Game hammers out details through lightning quick dialogue and camera cuts. It is a dense picture with an interesting central figure. In a world of high end gambling, Michael Cera remained his shambling self but with the same dense, light-speed dialogue. There was an effort to make the whole thing rigid, as if to tell the viewer to sit up straight and pay attention. I was reasonably entertained by this world I knew nothing about (other than the poker of course) but at times I think slowing action down and letting scenes breathe would've immersed me further instead of feeling I was being read a novel in a limited amount of time.

Not Sorkin's best. I don't buy for a minute that Molly is as blameless as Sorkin makes her out to be (or as her book does if that's the case). Chastain is a wonderful actress, but her delivery of Sorkin dialogue is not as clear and smooth as the cast of West Wing of Jeff Daniels. Idris Elba does a fine job as does Costner. I don't think this is even Chastain's fault per se, it takes a certain type to do Sorkin well.

I knew the scripts going to be good after the first opening scene, then I saw the credits, ah! Aaron Sorkin! Should have watched this in the cinema! The writings tight, the dialogues great. The only complaint I got was the scene when she ran into her dad. At first I thought he was a delusion materialized by her stress. Then when I realized that he was really there, I was hoping for a good explanation but that never came. There was no explanation how he could find her there at that time in such a big city... The conversation of that scene was great but it just felt so forced. Couldnt Aaron Sorkin write about how the dads learned about the law firm reping her and just waiting outside for days? The points of cutting between past and present were also very well chosen. I got very invested in Molly and wanted to learn more and more about her just like her lawyer. Jessica Chastain acting was very strong here. I particularly liked the nod that she gave to Idris Elba early on in the movie. 

Give this film a 7 if you're a serious fan of poker and want to hear a lot of narration about the who, what and why. Molly's Game feels a little bit like Goodfellas. Molly's narration starts when she's a kid and continues through nearly every scene in the film. The problem here is that Jessica Chastain delivers the narrative in what amounts to a monotone, and Molly is not a working class kid growing up in a neighborhood full of chummy mafiosi. Her father's a college professor. Her family is full of genius level IQs. And she's not only highly intelligent. She evolves into a world-class athlete headed for the Olympics (till fate intervenes) and she's gorgeous too. So by the time she's running her high stakes poker games she's proven herself extraordinary and it becomes hard to sympathize with someone who tries to tell people (including her lawyer) that she has nothing to do with the mob, and, by the way, she's tap-dancing real hard to avoid ever breaking any laws against gambling because she's such a principled person. So principled that, in the end, she won't dish to the feds about her players because that would violate her personal code. I mean, you don't see this kind of "loyalty" in the real world mafia, and like the federal prosecutor in the film I don't believe a word of it. But, hey, dear old Dad is sure proud. He describes the successes of Molly's two brothers in glowing terms, and then describes Molly as creating a million dollar business out of nothing but her own wit. That's some demonstration of principles. You'd think someone as brilliant as Molly would at least have a peephole in the front door of her condo.

A film that is based only on the excellent acting of Jessica Chanstain but nothing more. The other actors are forced to act scenes heard several times in this kind of film. Good the first part with a quickly editing while in the second the film becomes boring with a trivial ending. Sad, because the story of Molly Bloom was very interesting.

All of the Aaron Sorkin main trademarks (snappy dialogue, smart characters) are here and for the most part this is a great directorial debut by him. Jessica Chastain is excellent as always and the story is captivating, with the only issue being that this plays out like your typical "based on a true story" film. It's rather formulaic.

Overall Aaron Sorkin's script is witty, original and exciting as we explore the non-linear look into *ahem* Molly's game. The problem is that there tends to be an undertone of Hollywood schlock, mainly the relationships between daughters and their fathers and how years of mental abuse can be wrapped up in a two hour film.

I don't know how this movie is getting such high reviews. It is well acted but . . . well it is a terrible story. Molly Bloom is a self centered, terrible human being. She profits off of gambling addicts, does drugs, and is a criminal. Her whole redeeming point is that she doesn't beat up people that owe her money. That is it. I going to guess that most of the positive reviews are only because Jessica Chastain is the lead . Kevin Costner also has a memorable turn in the film as Bloom's dad. Idris Elba also does a bang up job. Still, neither my wife or I cared what happened to Molly. Chastain has an issue that she comes off smarmy and as a know it all in every scene. I wanted her to go to jail.

Writer-director Aaron Sorkin and actors Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba and Kevin Costner prove that dialogue, especially as well-written and delivered as it is here, can propel a film forward just as easily as plot and more enjoyably than special effects.

A film that clips along at the same brisk pace as Aaron Sorkin's albeit unrealistic dialog. It's nicely structured and wonderfully acted. Someone referred to its "non-linear structure", but I hardly noticed that - perhaps because it was in the service of a minor "mystery thread" at the center of the film. The flashbacks helped pique interest in how Molly got to where she was. By the way, does anyone think Metacritic will eventually combat the trolls at Slant by throwing away the highest and lowest scores for each film? I mean, in the interest of fairness and accuracy, what a boon this would be to those of us tired of seeing Slant snottily trashing every good film that comes along, including this one. Eliminating their predictably low score along with the highest score - that is, the outliers - would result in a much more accurate/representative film rating.

Did I watch a movie or did Jessica Chastain just read me a book? Overlong and overwrought, it was an altogether tiring experience.

New director Aaron Sorkin made "Molly's Game", which could've been a snorefest, into an "Ocean's 11" style fastpaced casino story. Jessica Chastain was amazing as always with a good supporting performance by Idris Elba. It's a good tale of powering through setbacks, rising up then falling down, but sticking by some guiding principles - not selling your friends out even when it will bring you a big advantage. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

This is a true story and I like how it was done. In a very flashback way. That structure for the movie worked so well. Jessica Chastain is a goddess in this movie. Fully in control for the role and physically provocative. She carry the story and validate the movie. Idris Elba is also bringing his talent to Chastain, and both of them have great scenes together. The movie is very verbal and the pace is good. Not really any actions but a life drama. At first I didn't believe how it ended, but I saw on the net it was exactly that in real life. So, justice is also a mean to keep the peace I guess...I give the movie a 75% for the amazing acting and movie structure. The rest, you should read it on the web. The film wasn't that far from the truth.

Excellent movie. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie was 2.5 hours long but the story was intriguing throughout the entire time which is rare in long movies. Great story loved it.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

First movie of the year! I’d been waiting for Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut for a while, and damn did he deliver. As always, his dialogue burns of the screen. As always Jessica Chastain is excellent, and lends this story a ton of dramatic weight. This is a ton of fun, and my favorite movie of the year so far.

Sorkin once again provides us with a drama driven by a brilliant script and superb performances that barrels along at his signature cracking pace, making for a thoroughly enjoyable film. Chastain is brilliant as the eponymous Molly; Elba provides an excellent foil to her powerful performance, and it is this partnership coupled with a fantastic soundtrack, gorgeous costumes, and stylised visuals that combine to bring this fascinating story to the big screen. Intelligent, compelling, and polished, this is a fantastic based-on-a-true story well worth your time. 8.97/10

hey, switch seats.. Molly's Game Too much of content and too much of parallel sub-plots playing on track is smart as it lets the audience work it out but it also may come off as a hoax which the makers have taken care off but it still seems like too much complicated to invest your chips in (probably the same mistake as Martin did on Casino). Molly's Game seems like a throwback to Martin Scorcese's flicks like The Wolf Of The Wall Street and Casino and just as DiCaprio and De Niro walks us through the whole movie so does Chastain too and yes, just like those flicks it had a similar trajectory in which it won't surprise you; bummer and that too for more than 2 hours. Aaron Sorkin's first directorial is definitely plausible but his bluff can be foreseen miles away which makes it all redundant. Jessica is in her A game and with a good supporting cast like Elba, the ride is quite safe in their hands. But in the end, what Molly's Game lacks in offering is appropriate editing, perpetual drama and a better or justified climax.

'Molly's Game' is a solidly structured movie about a woman's journey from hardship, to success, to failure, to... whatever you might want to consider her overall outcome of this story. Jessica Chastain is marvelous as our leading lady who, after being emotionally strained by her rough-raising father (Kevin Costner), she decides to become an assistant for a man who holds games like a little casino. Molly realizes that this is something she can excel in, and takes this business further, to benefit herself financially. Aaron Sorkin ('The Social Network') may not make movies for everybody, his dialogue-heavy style may prove unrewarding for some viewers, but the fast-pace and straight-to-the-point style narrative make this movie more entertaining than it has any right to be. Idris Elba is fantastically cast as her lawyer, who is also a "tough cookie", but he, as well as her strict father, just want what is best for her. Overall, this is one of the best movies out there, it is sharp, straight, fast, and well-made. If this movie doesn't get you interested in the subject matter, then I guess it's not for you, but I definitely enjoyed it, and stayed glued to the screen.

Underwhelming. I am fan of the work of Aaron Sorkin. Everything he writes has such a sharp edge to that is feels to fun to not just watch but hear patiently and intently. He is a good storyteller. Despite my obvious bias in this case, I don't know whether I should blame the writers who worked on it or the story itself, which while still unique, is just not interesting or causal enough to make a difference to me. I still admire the acting of Jessica Chastain (and the opportunity to know awesome and attractive she can look when needed to). She was only reason I was willing to watch through to the end. Her portrayal of a character that is perhaps way more than interesting I thought it would be. Idris Elba and Kevin Costner couldn't do enough to make me care for them or their characters, it felt anybody else would have sufficed too. At least, it was indictment of a chance at the Justice system still having hopes on itself and good people not being absolutely being horribly messed up for some inadvertent mistakes they met. Who knows, for this movie won't really answer it for you.

Fantastic movie. I have seen a lot of movies this year and this was the 2nd best. I was not thrilled by the trailers but went based on the reviews here and so glad I did. It was very well written and acted.

I'm truly puzzled why this very intelligent movie didn't get better reviews overall as it is of high quality and very entertaining with one of the best performances by Jessica Chastain that I have seen.

Typical Aaron Sorkin movie, almost -a follow-up to The Social Network in theme and execution. Sorkin proves to be as solid a director as he is a writer, so all is well. The film is as strong as one could hope despite these issues and a great showcase for some talented performers.

“Molly’s Game” was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and is based on the memoir and true story of Molly Dubin Bloom, a Colorado native who invaded the New York and California gambling scene running the highest staked poker games either State ever encountered. Jessica Chastain plays the lead role and is exemplary in her performance of this self-confident gaming hostess aided and ably abetted by Idris Elba, Kevin Costner and Chris O’’Dowd. Mr. Elba and Mr. O’Dowd are British and Irish, respectively, and a knowing audience will be conscious of the effort these two actors make to sound “American”. That being said, they do justice to Mr. Sorkin’s fine writing and directing as the film examines this almost hidden part of society that caters to the whims, addictions and games of extraordinarily wealthy and successful men. Ms. Chastain gives one of her finest portrayals and, for this viewer at least, appears to wear the face of more than one beautiful woman (thanks to changing hair-dos and eye make-up) but, throughout, a lady who played a great hand. I give the film a 7.0 for, even considering that the story is limited to the basic facts without the help of a writer's embellishment, it’s still a good deal

Molly's Game was better than I expected it to be without reaching great status. The story was a good one, and not one I had been privy to while it was playing out in the media & courts. Had heard some scuttlebutt about Hollywood poker, but that's about it. This fleshed all that out, and also gave a new interesting look into the world of private high stakes games that happen every night, every where. Recommended but just missed on Irdis' accent & Chastain's acting

Molly's Game is a solid movie. I watched the trailer before seeing the movie, and I thought that it looked good. I had heard nothing about Molly Bloom beforehand, so the story was entirely new to me. What an incredible story! Certain aspects were probably dramatized for cinematic purposes, but an interesting story nonetheless. Fantastic performances by Jessica Chestain and Idris Elba; I really enjoyed the character development of both of the characters they portray. The chemistry that Chestain and Elba shared was delightfully surprising. Jessica Chastain is solidifying herself as one of the best actress's in Hollywood. It's only a matter of time before she wins her first Oscar. There were a few superfluous scenes that I don't believe contributed to the film, along with a couple that I would have changed. Other than that, the film is solid and I would recommend seeing it.

Book to film adaptations are often risky, though Hollywood can’t seem to help itself. Presumably inspired by massive profits made by films such as the ‘Harry Potter’ series, the written word continues to find it’s way onto the big screen, regardless of how cleanly it will translate. Unlike direct adaptations of fictional stories, however, Molly’s Game finds itself in an interesting situation. The film is an adaptation of the book by the same name, written by the titular Molly Bloom. Supposedly explaining the incidents outlined by the film, the book is non-fiction. Instead of simply making a documentary, however, director Aaron Sorkin seemed to have his sights set elsewhere, expanding on the book by including the events taking place after. With films such as these, I’m put into a difficult spot; I can neither critique nor praise the plot, as the writers supposedly had nothing to do with it. I can, however, criticise the cinematography and soundtrack. They certainly weren’t bad, they were simply serviceable. I rarely noticed anything that stood out, or that surprised me. If you’re looking for revolutionary visuals, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. The film isn’t ugly by any means, but it feels rather static at times. Instead, much of the film is carried by the dialogue, and the performances. Each are rather fantastic. Again, I don’t know how much credit I can give to those behind the script, as I don’t know which lines are pulled from reality, if any at all. Despite this, I enjoyed much of it. Humour was attempted occasionally, which I found rather hit or miss, but it wasn’t painfully invasive as I’m used to. Where I feel the real talent lies is the cast. Jessica Chastain’s Molly Bloom, for the most part, was fantastic. At times, I found her character annoying, but I don’t feel any of that falls upon the actress. Idris Elba’s portrayal of Molly’s lawyer was equally fantastic, if not more so. His character, however, is rather confusing to me. He seems to be fictional, though I don’t know why they didn’t simply portray her real Lawyers. Despite being about Poker, the game took up very little screen-time. It was only the focus of the film twice or so, but when it was, it was legitimately nerve-racking. They made sure we knew the stakes beforehand, and it helped create real drama where in another film, there may be none. Going into this film, it may be worth researching the game of poker briefly if you don’t already know the rules. It isn’t necessary, and the film informs you of any mandatory information, but it may help should you miss a line, or wish to understand any scenes with more depth. There was also many oddities littered throughout the film, which I shall cover briefly. Spoilers for the rest of this paragraph. Due to the film covering a longer period of time within two hours and twenty minutes, many characters feel like they change out of nowhere. Player X seems to go from being an odd but at least pleasant person, to almost destroying someone’s life overnight. I imagine the real-life equivalent would have occurred over a year or so. Also, the story felt rather one-sided. I appreciate she’s the main character, and showing her too harshly may be detrimental to the overall film, but the film does it’s best to brush over major events that show Molly in the wrong. At one point, there was even a throwaway line about her potentially contributing to someone’s suicide. Despite the character’s criminal actions, the film shows Molly in the best light possible, despite being a convicted criminal. Rather than being an uplifting recovery story, with Molly bringing herself back from her drug issues and problems with the mob, it instead tries to parade her as some sort of role-model. Also worth noting is that, despite it’s almost two and a half hour runtime, I never found myself bored, unlike many other recent films. Overall, I feel the film lacked style. The music was lacklustre, and I found myself forgetting it was there oftentimes. The cinematography, as mentioned before, was rarely anything revolutionary. If you don’t seek to make use of the advantages of the new medium, why bother making a film at all? I feel I could have gotten the same experience by simply reading the book. Perhaps this is an incredibly expensive and elaborate advert? With this said, however, I did enjoy myself. Perhaps I’m a **** for the general aesthetic of the film, but I wasn’t disappointed when the credits rolled. If you enjoy poker, or Molly Bloom’s story interests you at all, I can comfortably recommend you check it out. I’ll give it a generous 7/10.

Molly's Game Molly's Game is the directorial debut of Aaron Sorkin, one of the best screenwriters of our time. The movie is about a former Olympic class skier, who injures herself during a ski run. She then grows up to run her own poker business, which gets her into trouble. Molly's Game is so simple and at some points, it can come off very ridiculous. But Sorkin finds a way to make this simple concept very entertaining. Aaron Sorkin can make even the most boring scenes seem **** entertaining. Aaron Sorkin's direction is very lazy and dull. But he's a first time director, and i won't give a point off, because he's mostly a writer, not a director. But his fast, quippy and competent dialogue, keep the film going. I always enjoy his stories and characters. His complicated story isn't hard to understand. He's very smart in the he presents his dialogue and characters. This film has great moments of monologue. There are certain scene's in this film that go on forever, which I'll get into later. But most of those scenes are monologue scenes. And the writing is stellar and brilliant in those scenes. This film is also amazingly well acted. Jessica Chastain gives the best performance of her career. She's so powerful in every scene she's in. Idris Elba is also fantastic in this film. Kevin Costner is also brilliant. Literally every actor in this film is fantastic. The tone is consistent throughout the movie. Never, does it ever stray off course. It keeps going and going till the movie ends. I do have negatives. The biggest problem with this movie are that scenes go on for too long. And when they do, the scenes start to drag. And also with the scenes, there are some scenes that could have been cut out. The music is also lame and simple. Probably could've gotten a better composer. And i didn't like way the film ended. It was so cheesy and so cliché. Overall i loved Molly's game. I really wanna see where Aaron Sorkin goes as a director and can't wait to see what he does next. 96 %

(Possible spoilers.) Watching “Molly’s Game” seems to be the same as listening to a ‘Talking Book’ with its almost wall to wall narration by Jessica Chastain as Molly Bloom. In Aaron Sorkin’s director’s debut, he makes the mistake of many first-timers not following sometimes less means more with this 2 hours and 20 minutes film. As the writer of the screenplay, as he is known for his rat-a-tat dialogue in his television scripts, the talk is fast but in film his characters are more stationary. Jessica Chastain does a good job of showing how Molly Bloom became a tough, mostly unfeeling, woman when as a child her demanding father, played by Kevin Costner, training her for the U.S. Olympic Ski team, constantly tells her she isn’t good enough. Her two brothers are overachievers, just as her father is, so when she has a freak accident skiing in competition, ending her career, she looks to do something else, entertaining the idea of law school but, instead goes to Los Angeles. Taking jobs to support herself while living on a friend’s couch she eventually becomes an assistant to a man who runs an exclusive poker game for high rollers. Molly soon moves to New York where she outsmarts her former boss and starts her own high stakes poker games having the rich and famous as her clients. She runs everything by the books legally besides offering the players more than other operations ever did in the way of luxurious snacks, drinks and comfort. Again there is nothing illegal about her operation such as though she has beautiful women working for her attending bar, being dealers, making the men as comfortable as they can they never exchange sex for money or anything else. At one point, due to pressures of running 2-3 all-nighters a week, she starts taking drugs to get sleep and to stay awake which makes her sloppy and inadvertently gets mixed up with the Russian mob and gets caught by the FBI. She seeks out Charlie Jaffey, played by Idris Elba, a sharp lawyer, to defend her and though he can get her a great deal with the Feds he isn’t able to convince her to name names. As she points out to him she didn’t name names in the book she had published for which, if she had, she could have gotten an advance of a million dollars instead of the thirty-five thousand she did get and she wouldn’t now. The film is based on that book, “Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker.” In the film Molly comes across as a smart, forceful, sharp, hard as nails woman but, in only one scene, shows that she has any feelings and that is in a talk with her father who relates an incident that is never even hinted at before that talk. Men fall in love with her but she rebuffs them though she will offer help to men she sees ‘drowning’, in over their heads, becoming gambling addicts, giving cash and/or credit when needed but her feelings belong to only her. Aaron Sorkin does keep the picture moving but too many times, talking/showing the poker games, has Molly saying too much, so rapidly that not only does it get monotonous it also becomes incomprehensible at times. There are one too many skiing scenes and, though touching, an unnecessary storyline regarding the lawyer and his daughter. Jessica Chastain is being talked up as a Best Actress Oscar nominee, deservedly, as she really is the main reason to see “Molly’s Game” plus, if you are a fan of Sorkin’s writing, as I am.

Meet Molly Bloom. Twelve years after a stray branch ended her Olympic skiing career in a crash, her illegal gambling operation sent her on trial. From her teen life onward, she has had no heroes, nor does she trust anyone; thus she started to rebel against male domination through an operation in games of poker in 2003. Her routine attracted countless players across the nation, plus celebrities Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tobey Maguire. As she managed these hot-headed men, eyeshadow and mascara buried her face, perhaps designed to complement the various displays of all that her beautiful cleavage can do. In the first five minutes of Molly’s Game, you learn her traits beyond being a stereotypical steamy Vegas chick, thanks to the famous actress in Molly’s role. Jessica Chastain’s (The Help, Zero Dark Thirty) smooth husky voiceover narration **** you in right away, a portrayal depicting the true anti-wife identified by her greed. Then once the worst thing hits her operation, Chastain slows down her expressions into a sad conflicted face. You learn lots of information about the other people she meets in the way they talk down at each other. Each connection made between the characters starts off effectively tense, driven by gender dominance, then several later turn quite personal, guaranteed to sway you parents out there. Molly’s court attorney even forced his daughter to read The Crucible, setting off common daddy issues between the two that creates a more believable relationship. Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), one of the film’s several noteworthy actors, deserves some well-earned awards buzz from the way he plays off Chastain as the court attorney. Molly’s autobiography of the same name, adapted by Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The Social Network) fluidly translates clever informative expositions, beyond just the chilly narrative dialogue, into a nonlinear narrative which explains around poker’s rules to describe Molly's legal case. The dialogue focuses in on everyone’s discussion about the law in relation to convincing Molly about the true worst thing ever. Case in point: one consultant tells her at the start of her operation, “Don’t break the law while breaking the law.” It’s quite transparent however that Sorkin is a first-time director: his efforts to generate sympathy, as much as it accomplishes the job’s necessities, pays off relatively little to match the genuine intended joy on Molly’s part. The fast edit cuts spliced amongst still images and historical tapes straight up copies the visual style of The Big Short, except with bland pacing alongside an often-defocused camera. Ultimately, the visual decisions around Molly scrambles the subject of people’s worship without enough originality. Molly’s grudges against the Russian mafia likewise draw back the experience a bit further, as if they’re merely plot devices in service of Vladimir Putin. In fact, through actions like the large amounts of Molly’s chest shown or the spicy descriptions about poker, Sorkin falls victim to the “Male Gaze,” meaning the way men and women dress/behave/etc. in the media caters to men’s sexual urges. Such a movie about a woman could have used a stronger authenticity under a Female Gaze! Other young women may consequently not see themselves in her place, and prefer an actress who resembles the real Molly Bloom in age and natural hair color, rather than watching some huge celebrity’s studio-push toward an Oscar. I’m probably **** the barrel right now, yet I still recommend this energized biopic! Thanks to the dialogue more so than the direction, the claustrophobic energy of illustrated geometric degree angles never dies off, apparently shuffling you into Molly’s deck while she deals her cards in the game of skill. Of course, we’ve each had a traumatic turning point similar to her Olympics incident, but her legacy today reminds of a truth urgently closer to home than a stray tree branch in our path. It parallels the blame both sexes share for the other’s pain, teaching us how our own greed attracts crime. Amongst the current Hollywood sex scandals, we sincerely need the proper empowerment communicated in Molly’s game.

The elements that elevate this film comes from the story, the script, the actors, especially Jessica Chastain who once again delivers a performance of great quality and also that the film manages to catch you as a spectator really fast. Its mistakes? The excessive lenght, let's be honest, the movie has minutes to spare and also the movie has a rhythm and a tone similar to that of David Fincher. I understand that Sorkin learned from him, but Fincher is already consecrated and Sorkin is only a beginner and in several details is evident. Beyond that, the film is solid, is entertaining, is well acted and to be honest I don't know what else you can ask of a film with those qualities.