The Good Liar

This movie rattles along with terrific energy and dash and the flashback sequences show that it’s actually far more daring and ambitious that you might expect. It’s a great duel between McKellen and Mirren.

The back and forth, the listening and reacting between Mirren and McKellen, as each of their characters gauges the other and as we mark the incremental shifts and exchanges of power, is pure pleasure.

As a whole, The Good Liar is not quite good enough to deserve the comparisons to the works of Alfred Hitchcock it's clearly aiming for, though it is just good enough to suggest what Hitchcock himself might have done with it on a second pass.

Director Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) can do this stuff with his eyes closed, and sometimes it feels like he might be doing that as the plot chugs from London to Berlin and secrets are duly uncovered. But there’s enough visual flair to elevate things above standard genre fare.

The world-class pairing of Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen is the only calling card that The Good Liar needs. Yet even these two knighted performers -- in a rare star vehicle for a pair of senior citizens -- can't elevate this adaptation of Nicholas Searle's book, which clearly wants to be twisty and Hitchcockian but never quite gets there.

Yes, you would watch these two in virtually anything. You just wish it wasn’t this. They deserve something sturdier and far less head-slappingly preposterous, and that’s the truth.

The calculation couldn’t be clearer. Put two superb performers together — they don’t get superber than Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen — and you’re on your way to making an exceptional movie. Not so fast, though. The Good Liar is calculation from arch start to hollow finish.

I liked it. While at first I thought might be boring and like more of a love story about people in older age, it turned out more interesting. Plus very great acting, with seasoned actors. Plot was interesting too, even though had some loopholes - spoiler alert - mainly about why Helen Mirren's character had to go through all the trouble of going to Germany and askin McKellen's character if he was a **** and all that if she already knew. I mean ok going to Germany to get what she needed (that hair or whatever even though for me that didn't seem much of a proof or whatever). I mean if digging deeper in story then can find many loopholes, but without doing that, it was very nice movie

"I pond of you.""Does pond mean love?"60년을 참아온 똑똑한 소녀의 복수210605 (3.0)-명배우 두분의 1도 밀리지 않는 그러면서도 깊이있고 요란하지 않은 연기에 완전 몰입했다.등장인물이 적은데도 이렇게 몰입하게되다니..하지만 진정한 라이어가 베티인게 너무 초장부터 티나서 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Personally, it's great to see two established actors like Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen leading a good and interesting mystery thriller. While the story doesn't help them entirely, they're both so good at what they do that of course it helps a lot to turn this movie into something better than the average. The problems of course are inevitable and the one that ends up affecting most of the story is how predictable it can be. It's not that you infer the twist but that you know it's inevitable that it will come, therefore that element of surprise goes out the window. Another problem, although not big, is how calculated all its elements are. In some thrillers it works great but here things feel a bit automated and there comes a point where the plausibility of the characters begins to fade. It doesn't close consistently but it's conclusive enough. It's not a sensational or extraordinary film but it has other advantages over many other mediocre thrillers, so of course I recommend it.

When a movie features a scene where the two aging stars go to a cinema to watch a Quinton Tarantino film you sort of know what to expect from the ensuing screenplay and, it’s exactly as you might expect. Just as Tarantino copies everyone else’s movies this overreaching con job copies the copier. Chock full of un-surprising surprises this stylized mess ticks all the director’s boxes, gay collaborators, bloody moments of needless gore, a con within a con that’s too clever for its own good – which just might leave analytical members of the audience wishing it would stop outstaying its welcome. The two stars are worthy of a far better script than this prawn head dressed up in a Lobster’s shell - even with its stylish cinematography and moody Carter Burwell score, it’s a disappointment. Another for those who gloss over the surface of their entertainment, without thinking all that much about it.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]