Ben Affleck is punching again, this time as playwright-director-leadactor. Ambitious as he is, the movie leaves much to be desired.
This could have been a great movie because:
1. it is adapted from a good story by Chuck Hogan who also wrote "Shutter Island".
2. Ben is back to his familiar territory, his hometown-like Boston, so the visuals were as realistic as stunning.
3. the supporting actors (Rebecca Hall for instance) were nicely singled out and did their part wonderfully. And Jeremy Renner stole the show. No wonder he got an Oscar nomination.
Turns out it falls short of expectation for the following reasons:
1. Ben was not a convincing lead actor especially at the beginning of the movie. It seems as if he gradually became the hero, which is not good enough. Compared with Jeremy Renner, he seems a little bit inadequate. (Sorry for you, Ben, Jeremy makes such a high benchmark!)
2. The movie tried to combine suspense/crime/action with romance. Although two hour long, the movie didn't seem to achieve what it set out to do on either side. Lesson for Ben: attempt to achieve too much will just lead you nowhere.
3. the storyline seems too contrived sometimes and some twists and turns seem familiar. Ben still has a long way to go to be a good screenplay writer.
And personally, I don' t like the fact that it is full of strong language.
Verdict: 7 out of 10
2011.7.10
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