An utterly mindless action comedy. No real substance, but it's no crime to cinema, as some reviews seem to feel. It's full of pretty. Just don't bring your brain to the cinema with you.
McConaughey and Hudson carry the whole thing. Their chemistry and skill make this a far more watchable movie than the script and direction might otherwise deliver. I've no complaints about them, but I'll avoid this director in future.
The script needed a heavy, critical edit. Unfortunately, it didn't get it.
here were a number of directional choices that I just didn't get. I'm not sure what the point of Gemma was, and the money shot with the sword was deeply tacky - I got the feeling the director wanted to see how long he could point a camera directly at the crotch of a teenage girl without it becoming too explicit for the rating. The nominal bad guys were so ineffective and stereotypical it was painful, and the racial aspect was both blatant and offensive, and it was this that truly sunk the movie for me. All of the actors involved can do better than to be involved with things like this.
McConaughey and Hudson carry the whole thing. Their chemistry and skill make this a far more watchable movie than the script and direction might otherwise deliver. I've no complaints about them, but I'll avoid this director in future.
The script needed a heavy, critical edit. Unfortunately, it didn't get it.
here were a number of directional choices that I just didn't get. I'm not sure what the point of Gemma was, and the money shot with the sword was deeply tacky - I got the feeling the director wanted to see how long he could point a camera directly at the crotch of a teenage girl without it becoming too explicit for the rating. The nominal bad guys were so ineffective and stereotypical it was painful, and the racial aspect was both blatant and offensive, and it was this that truly sunk the movie for me. All of the actors involved can do better than to be involved with things like this.