rlindau

A sobering but profound movie. It made clear to me (maybe for the first time) the plight of refugees everywhere - people more similar to us than different from us, and who but for the grace of God could indeed be us.

I thought it was a very powerful movie. Now that I've seen the film and read the critics' reviews, it seems my take is different from the critics': I don't see the story as primarily about a Black woman standing up to many oppressors, although that's certainly an element. Rather, it seems to me a story about miscommunication (ironic given that communication is what Sandra teaches) and missed opportunities (e.g., she and the older brother were close to finding common ground in the church scene). I came away thinking that all the main characters were monsters.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I found the movie to be incomprehensible. I suppose I'd need to rewatch the three originals to have any hope of understanding what's going on in this one.

For me, this movie was overly long and dragged badly; I was tempted to leave before it ended. The plot jumped many times between past and present - not a problem in some movies, but in this case unnecessary and often confusing. The characters were unappealing and one-dimensional. The special effects were reasonably spectacular - but that's just a cost of doing business these days.

Is there a campaign to down-rate this movie? The fanboy ratings seem remarkably similar. I wasn't wowed by it, didn't like it as much as the (real) critics, but the negative reviews seem hugely out of proportion, especially given how undiscriminating they usually are. I was troubled by a couple holes in the plot (wait, what, were the shape-shifters in league with Fury? and how did the heroine suddenly develop the superpowers she sports in the last segment of the movie?). That said, it was an entertaining evening.

I enjoyed the movie - it moved along and presented a very interesting new world - but I regret to find that it's all just an extended setup for a sequel (which will indeed never happen if this film doesn't make a lot more money)

Blah. It was mildly entertaining, but the plot, songs, and dances are all quite forgettable.

This movie has received quite good ratings from critics and viewers, but for me it was just a muddled mess. I think perhaps you need to be an enthusiast of the series for much of what happens to make any sense. For me it was just a series of long / loud / pointless battle scenes.

I found the movie to be slow (I dozed off a couple times) and more-than-unusually unbelievable (just hand-waving explanation of why / how the heroine surmounted the evil forces)

"I know you want it, but you can't make the pieces fit"... Harry Hole's statement to his love-interest partner sums up the movie pretty well for me. I love Nesbø's books, and I wanted very much to like this one, but it just didn't work. The story is confusing, with unexplained leaps (and things that even after the end of the movie make little sense). I think Fassbender makes (or would make) a decent Hole, and the scenery was satisfyingly bleak.

I love the Reacher books, but while the first Reacher movie was OK, this one was worse. Some critics' reviews talk about Cruise throwing his all into the role, but to me he just looked pudgy and too old for the role (reacher is supposed to be, what, 35?). The plot was unconvincing, with whatever facts motivated Reacher's conclusions and actions remained obscure or mysteries. The part I enjoyed most was Lee Child's semi-cameo - to me, he's a guy who looks like Reacher...

It's just not funny - you'd be better off just watching the trailer, which includes all the good parts (but not the undisciplined, excessive length, the excessive profanity, and the excessive excrement and urine "jokes"). If it were edited to, say, 90 minutes, and those excesses removed, it would rise in my estimation to "just mediocre."

I enjoyed it. I found the film to be bleak (which I like), the scenery beautiful, and the tension unrelenting. It took me a while to understand what was going on - but once I did, the movie seemed to follow an inexorable arc to its conclusion.