This is a tough one to review because it is so genuine, so noble, so sincere, so earnest, so well acted, so epic.
And yet, ironically—impassioned as it is—it left me feeling dispassionate.
It is technically perfect in virtually every way, but it is, at times, simply boring and flat. Too 'silent.'
My expectations were WAY HIGH, like Godfather high. I thought it would be De Niro's The Mission for our times. It's nowhere near that.
Garfield and Driver are amazing, Neeson is fine, the rest are fine, and the swampy sounds that bookend the movie are as foreshadowy and complete as the opening number and final scene of La La Land.
Alas, it's just 2-3 points too flat, out of 10, putting it at a strong 7. Only a 7.
If a phenomenal musician had scored it, and given us some heartbeats and climactic wallop—then ended with silence—wow, I think it could have been amazing. Something along the lines of Michael Mann's The Insider or the work Ennio Morricone did for The Hateful Eight would have made it tremendous.
What a difference music makes, or the absence thereof.
