48 reviews
Michelle Williams performance is the best part of the film
I had never heard of this film, nor did I read anything about it on IMDb beforehand, so I had no expectations whatsoever when I sat down for it. By 20 minutes in, I was enjoying it a lot. Michelle Williams was putting on a London accent which seemed flawless to me. (Okay, I'm a Texan, what do I know about English accents?) The big event seemed to be done pretty well. The film is mainly psychological, about dealing with loss. Miss Williams does very well with this material, and indeed, her performance is the best part of the film. But when I got into the final third of the film, my enjoyment started to flag. The flashback scenes were way overdone, even though I get that it was the director's way of showing the character's break with reality. And in the end, the character's shocking naivete about the mindset of Islamic terrorists was extremely jarring. Overall, I liked the movie, but I am not sure that I could recommend it to anyone else.
Incendiary AKA Blown Apart (2008)
If you like me saw the poster (and the IMDb genre listing for that matter) and thought that this was a drama-thriller, let me tell you that it's not.
Although there are some slight moments of suspense this is solely a drama film about grief.
They do throw in some other elements to it as well, some that works better than others but the true essence of the story is a woman grief after a great tragedy in her life.
It tackles the subject-matter rather delicate for the most part and it does feel rather realistic for the more part.
It's rather depressing though, but I suppose that is the point.
Michelle Williams impresses by the sole fact she's able to sustain a British London accent throughout the movie and not once ever slip into a American one, which is extremely rare with American actors doing films in foreign English speaking countries but she had it down to perfection from beginning to end.
She also pulls a good performance over all as well.
So yeah not a feel-good movie that's for sure but it sustained my interested reasonably well, even though I don't know if I'd watch it again.
Although there are some slight moments of suspense this is solely a drama film about grief.
They do throw in some other elements to it as well, some that works better than others but the true essence of the story is a woman grief after a great tragedy in her life.
It tackles the subject-matter rather delicate for the most part and it does feel rather realistic for the more part.
It's rather depressing though, but I suppose that is the point.
Michelle Williams impresses by the sole fact she's able to sustain a British London accent throughout the movie and not once ever slip into a American one, which is extremely rare with American actors doing films in foreign English speaking countries but she had it down to perfection from beginning to end.
She also pulls a good performance over all as well.
So yeah not a feel-good movie that's for sure but it sustained my interested reasonably well, even though I don't know if I'd watch it again.
- Seth_Rogue_One
- Apr 5, 2016
- Permalink
It's a bomb
A young mother sees her husband and four-year old son off to a soccer match. She then goes home and puts the match on the television. As she watches there are explosions at the stadium. A terrorist attack kills her husband, who she didn't much like anyway, and her son, who she loved dearly, along with a thousand or so others. Oh, and as the young mother watches this unfold on the television screen she is at that moment having sex with another man.
This seems to set up a story about the young mother's guilt and grief. And there's some of that. But there's a bunch of other stuff too, none of which really works. There are conspiracy thriller elements which go practically nowhere. There are romantic entanglements as a couple of men who should really know better try to swoop in on the newly widowed young mother. In a portion of the film which strains credulity to the breaking point we see the young mother reach out to the son of one of the suicide bombers. The film goes off in so many different directions that it ends up being quite a mess. The young mother manages to hold herself together remarkably well given the circumstances. For a while anyway. But eventually she starts to crack and when she does the movie cracks too. At this point it is beyond repair.
If there is anything positive to say it is that, working from a rather lousy script, Michelle Williams still does remarkably well in the role of the young mother. Whatever little successes this movie has belong to Williams. Ewan McGregor is at least passable as one of her suitors. As the other Matthew Macfadyen is a total dud and he also draws the shortest straw, getting the absolute worst of all the film's terrible dialogue. Some of the things this character says are just laughably, impossibly bad. He speaks in a way human beings simply do not speak. The film aims for melodrama but misses the mark. The story doesn't really engage and it moves at a snail's pace. A story more focused on the mother herself and the way she coped with this tragedy might have worked. But this movie gets bogged down as it veers off in other directions. Williams does the best she can but her noble effort can't save this dud.
This seems to set up a story about the young mother's guilt and grief. And there's some of that. But there's a bunch of other stuff too, none of which really works. There are conspiracy thriller elements which go practically nowhere. There are romantic entanglements as a couple of men who should really know better try to swoop in on the newly widowed young mother. In a portion of the film which strains credulity to the breaking point we see the young mother reach out to the son of one of the suicide bombers. The film goes off in so many different directions that it ends up being quite a mess. The young mother manages to hold herself together remarkably well given the circumstances. For a while anyway. But eventually she starts to crack and when she does the movie cracks too. At this point it is beyond repair.
If there is anything positive to say it is that, working from a rather lousy script, Michelle Williams still does remarkably well in the role of the young mother. Whatever little successes this movie has belong to Williams. Ewan McGregor is at least passable as one of her suitors. As the other Matthew Macfadyen is a total dud and he also draws the shortest straw, getting the absolute worst of all the film's terrible dialogue. Some of the things this character says are just laughably, impossibly bad. He speaks in a way human beings simply do not speak. The film aims for melodrama but misses the mark. The story doesn't really engage and it moves at a snail's pace. A story more focused on the mother herself and the way she coped with this tragedy might have worked. But this movie gets bogged down as it veers off in other directions. Williams does the best she can but her noble effort can't save this dud.
Self-destructs (spoilers throughout)
- Ricky_Roma__
- Oct 18, 2008
- Permalink
Give this a chance!!
This is worth watching just for Michelle William's mesmerising performance and I'm not sure why it's been so panned by so many reviewers. The story is interesting, but it's more about emotions of lust, loss, guilt and reconciliation.
- Rachael-Harper
- May 16, 2019
- Permalink
whose babe ?
- ozanarslantas78
- Mar 26, 2009
- Permalink
Terrorism in London
A young beautiful woman (Michelle Williams) is trapped in an empty marriage tucked away in an ugly apartment block in London. Her pride and joy in her grey existence is her 4-year-old son. One day, as the two of them are at the football match, she seduces a slick journalist Jasper (Ewan McGregor) in the local pub. As fate would have it, they are locked in a lovers embrace, with the football match raging on behind them on TV, when the stadium going up in flames with a series of explosions. Her husband and son are both killed in the terrorist attack, leaving her broken and alone.
If you are now thinking that a film about the aftermath of a major terrorist attack from the director of Brigit Jones' Diary sounds like a recipe for disaster, then you are partly right. But it is not bad for the reason you might think. The film is, for the most part, an emotional roller- coaster - you could be crying your way through most of it. But not because of her grieving for her lost family. The bombs are just the beginning - she still has to endure a full load of unlikely events in the hour to come. She understandably loses it along the way as the story becomes so over-dramatised that it is just ridiculous (especially when you run the story back in your head afterwards).
Towards the end she enters a phase of grief hallucination and reconciliation with life. As the movie is neither funny nor exciting, this should have been the route to take all along. Concentrating on the mourning of the young mother, and perhaps even throwing in some guilt towards her semi-estranged husband. Her husband is just gone with his death. He is not missed nor is there any regret for his disappearance. Even for a semi-estranged husband this sounds a little harsh - she did worry about him, after all, so she must have felt something. It is also curious that they have no family, or friends who drop by to comfort her. A lonely marriage must have pushed them into some kind of a social circle, or a hobby, or at least the occasional phone call with their mothers. Was their life really that lonely.
The movie is clearly intended as a pamphlet against terrorism, by showing the human cost at the level of ordinary people. It also takes the time to "explain" the resilience of London in a voice-over. It is a little desperate to save a movie through nationalism, but can actually be fit in here, although it could have been better prepared, by, for instance, by making her a more integral part of London. This is no masterpiece, nor an entertainment jewel, and can easily be missed altogether. A pity, because it does have some potential.
If you are now thinking that a film about the aftermath of a major terrorist attack from the director of Brigit Jones' Diary sounds like a recipe for disaster, then you are partly right. But it is not bad for the reason you might think. The film is, for the most part, an emotional roller- coaster - you could be crying your way through most of it. But not because of her grieving for her lost family. The bombs are just the beginning - she still has to endure a full load of unlikely events in the hour to come. She understandably loses it along the way as the story becomes so over-dramatised that it is just ridiculous (especially when you run the story back in your head afterwards).
Towards the end she enters a phase of grief hallucination and reconciliation with life. As the movie is neither funny nor exciting, this should have been the route to take all along. Concentrating on the mourning of the young mother, and perhaps even throwing in some guilt towards her semi-estranged husband. Her husband is just gone with his death. He is not missed nor is there any regret for his disappearance. Even for a semi-estranged husband this sounds a little harsh - she did worry about him, after all, so she must have felt something. It is also curious that they have no family, or friends who drop by to comfort her. A lonely marriage must have pushed them into some kind of a social circle, or a hobby, or at least the occasional phone call with their mothers. Was their life really that lonely.
The movie is clearly intended as a pamphlet against terrorism, by showing the human cost at the level of ordinary people. It also takes the time to "explain" the resilience of London in a voice-over. It is a little desperate to save a movie through nationalism, but can actually be fit in here, although it could have been better prepared, by, for instance, by making her a more integral part of London. This is no masterpiece, nor an entertainment jewel, and can easily be missed altogether. A pity, because it does have some potential.
- incitatus-org
- Apr 21, 2009
- Permalink
Underrated and misunderstood...
At times difficult to watch drama functions brilliantly as showcase for Michelle Williams (the best performance of hers that I have yet seen) and an all too vivid examination of the perils and scars of living in the oh so dangerous and unsettled modern world.
Previous comments labeling the film melodramatic and unconvincing seem very off base to me. I agree that this material MIGHT have been pat and soap opera-ish in other hands, but for me the emotional and physical drama are riveting and superbly realized.
I will admit to some reservations about Williams's accent in early scenes...but soon became totally drawn in by the conviction of her performance. She is matched by a beautifully chosen and directed supporting cast.
All in all a very unfairly overlooked film with a very important message which should resonate deeply with anyone willing to open their heart to it.
Previous comments labeling the film melodramatic and unconvincing seem very off base to me. I agree that this material MIGHT have been pat and soap opera-ish in other hands, but for me the emotional and physical drama are riveting and superbly realized.
I will admit to some reservations about Williams's accent in early scenes...but soon became totally drawn in by the conviction of her performance. She is matched by a beautifully chosen and directed supporting cast.
All in all a very unfairly overlooked film with a very important message which should resonate deeply with anyone willing to open their heart to it.
- martylee13045burlsink342
- Jan 3, 2013
- Permalink
Sharon Maguire should stick to comedy and not sappy melodrama
Yes, Virginia, it's Muslims blowing-up innocent people.
- vitaleralphlouis
- Jun 1, 2009
- Permalink
Awful !
Incredibly slow. Long periods when they didn't find dialogue so filled it with repetitive monotonous piano music. A plot with a good centre but too many twists or 'devices' to be believable. Because of the tenuous plot, characters are more difficult to relate to or care about. Too many themes / subjects.
So I didn't like it much ! I thought the above was a succinct review but now IMDb is making me write 10 lines, which is ironically similar to how I feel about the film actually given all the long slow panoramic shots over music while the actors look sad or longingly or suchlike. So yes this paragraph is just for that end, sorry everyone, but this review is less time than the film, so it's of some value. Ha !
So I didn't like it much ! I thought the above was a succinct review but now IMDb is making me write 10 lines, which is ironically similar to how I feel about the film actually given all the long slow panoramic shots over music while the actors look sad or longingly or suchlike. So yes this paragraph is just for that end, sorry everyone, but this review is less time than the film, so it's of some value. Ha !
expectations..
i think the main problem with the movie isn't the movie, it's that people are going in expecting a thriller instead of a drama. yes the major plot points could be covered in 5 minutes.. but that's not the point of drama. your average thriller is about things that happen and happen to have people in them. this movie is about the people and how they feel and cope when something momentous happens. if you appreciate that you'll appreciate the movie better, or not watch it cos it's not something that appeals to you.. and that's fair enough.
As far as the film goes, Michelle Williams carries it well. The accent's fine and the various states she goes through as she tries to deal with what has happened never feel you leaving disconnected or not understanding how she got there.
McGregor is his usual charming self, tho his is not really a major part (likewise MacFadyen), this is a movie about the mother and so these two don't get an awful lot of screen time.
The one fault i'd say is that the passage of time is not particularly well expressed particularly right at the end of the film when what seems to be a present day Ewan is wearing the exact same outfit as in the next scene which must be set sometime after.
Regardless, it's a decent movie, but requiring empathy.. so if you prefer action flicks, watch something else.
As far as the film goes, Michelle Williams carries it well. The accent's fine and the various states she goes through as she tries to deal with what has happened never feel you leaving disconnected or not understanding how she got there.
McGregor is his usual charming self, tho his is not really a major part (likewise MacFadyen), this is a movie about the mother and so these two don't get an awful lot of screen time.
The one fault i'd say is that the passage of time is not particularly well expressed particularly right at the end of the film when what seems to be a present day Ewan is wearing the exact same outfit as in the next scene which must be set sometime after.
Regardless, it's a decent movie, but requiring empathy.. so if you prefer action flicks, watch something else.
- a_difference-1
- Apr 5, 2009
- Permalink
Not melodrama meaning bad but melodrama meaning good
I went home and really appreciated the time I could spend with my young son after watching this. We played in the garden for at least an hour longer, everything he did was so much more vivid than if I had not watched this film. Many people have mentioned 'Melodrama' in their comments but usually with a sneer. Melodrama is not necessary a bad thing, it has a place if used well. This is a film about grief directed in the same manner as Bridget Jones. People who enjoyed Bridget Jones, Love Actually etc will find an emotional wrench with the mothers strength and weakness, as I did. A Mike Leigh type director would have made a very different film but that movie would have been unrelenting and harrowing by being much closer to the real life experiences of people suffering loss. I believe the filmmakers heart is in the right place and is not purposefully manipulating her audience. It must have taken much persistence and a strong belief to get this movie made, I imaging that it had a bumpy ride to get green lit. I'm glad they succeeded.
- tony_payne
- May 17, 2009
- Permalink
"Mommy
Mommy
Mommy"...Awkward Mess About a Mother's Loss
Well Intentioned Post-Terror Musings on a Mother's Loss of Her Son (what grief there is for Her Husband is virtually absent) from, not one, but four, in tandem Suicide Bombers at a Stadium in London.
Extremely Heavy Handed and sometimes Incoherent and Rambling Story. Badly Edited, the Film seems Pasted Together from a Committee of Mentally Challenged Monkeys.
Things Happen without the Least Bit of Coherence (the middle with the Teenage Boy as one example) and the Triangle Romance is just Awkward and Distracting.
Michelle Williams in a Difficult Role is Ravaged by it all and spends most of the Movie completely Disheveled and Delusional, in Tears, Distressed, and Depressed. Then a Segment Pops Up where She is Completely Gone, Hallucinating and Detached from Reality.
The Biggest Problem is the Movie Never comes together and Appears Random and Rushed. The Music is just Awful and the Film is a Heavy Duty Downer.
It Needs a Finesse of the Heart and Soul. It Feels like it was made, Tossed in a Blender, and Released without Regard for its Deep Subject Matter and the Emotional Attachment that it would Demand from the Audience.
Extremely Heavy Handed and sometimes Incoherent and Rambling Story. Badly Edited, the Film seems Pasted Together from a Committee of Mentally Challenged Monkeys.
Things Happen without the Least Bit of Coherence (the middle with the Teenage Boy as one example) and the Triangle Romance is just Awkward and Distracting.
Michelle Williams in a Difficult Role is Ravaged by it all and spends most of the Movie completely Disheveled and Delusional, in Tears, Distressed, and Depressed. Then a Segment Pops Up where She is Completely Gone, Hallucinating and Detached from Reality.
The Biggest Problem is the Movie Never comes together and Appears Random and Rushed. The Music is just Awful and the Film is a Heavy Duty Downer.
It Needs a Finesse of the Heart and Soul. It Feels like it was made, Tossed in a Blender, and Released without Regard for its Deep Subject Matter and the Emotional Attachment that it would Demand from the Audience.
- LeonLouisRicci
- Aug 19, 2016
- Permalink
Beautifully shot but slow and unfocused
This film is about a woman who lost her husband and son in a terror attack. Her life goes into a mess as she deals with her loss and hunts for the truth.
I have mixed feelings for "Incendiary". On one hand, it is beautifully shot. Every scene is nicely planned and constructed. Camera work is great too. On the other hand, the plot is confusing and strange. The pacing is excruciatingly slow, with a lot of repetitive scenes (such as London burning).
I also think "Incendiary" is not focused enough, as it tries to deal with too many topics including grief, guilt, quest for truth and the road to healing. If the filmmakers only focused on grief and guilt, without the subplots of the anti-terrorist guy or the suspect's family, I would have enjoyed the film more. Despite of Michelle Williams' superb acting, I find "Incendiary" disappointing and boring.
I have mixed feelings for "Incendiary". On one hand, it is beautifully shot. Every scene is nicely planned and constructed. Camera work is great too. On the other hand, the plot is confusing and strange. The pacing is excruciatingly slow, with a lot of repetitive scenes (such as London burning).
I also think "Incendiary" is not focused enough, as it tries to deal with too many topics including grief, guilt, quest for truth and the road to healing. If the filmmakers only focused on grief and guilt, without the subplots of the anti-terrorist guy or the suspect's family, I would have enjoyed the film more. Despite of Michelle Williams' superb acting, I find "Incendiary" disappointing and boring.
Very good melodrama
- texasguy11363-1
- Jul 4, 2009
- Permalink
Misleading
The thing I abhor most about selecting an unfamiliar movie from the rental or bargain bins is being lied to by the copywriters who decorate the DVD case with descriptions that have nothing to do with the movie. This film was the last straw and I will no longer choose movies I know nothing about based on the cover blurbs.
I was in the mood for a thriller - the most prominent word on the DVD case - and the promise of a gripping terrorist theme with a woman at the center of a police investigation was right up my alley. Instead, I was presented with a somber, slow moving, often disjointed story with weak character development and periodic attempts at artistic visuals. Though all of the acting was very good, it did not make up for the empty plot tangents that dragged down the pace nor did it improve the frequent sappy dialog.
This movie is one long whine about a lonely woman's grief and guilt, a supposedly very ordinary woman who nevertheless is the object of desire of many men and who has not even one relative or friend in the world. Despite the hopeful ending, a sad movie that really doesn't take you anywhere or reveal any new insights means I've wasted my time. Only 2 out of 10 stars for the acting and the cinematography.
I was in the mood for a thriller - the most prominent word on the DVD case - and the promise of a gripping terrorist theme with a woman at the center of a police investigation was right up my alley. Instead, I was presented with a somber, slow moving, often disjointed story with weak character development and periodic attempts at artistic visuals. Though all of the acting was very good, it did not make up for the empty plot tangents that dragged down the pace nor did it improve the frequent sappy dialog.
This movie is one long whine about a lonely woman's grief and guilt, a supposedly very ordinary woman who nevertheless is the object of desire of many men and who has not even one relative or friend in the world. Despite the hopeful ending, a sad movie that really doesn't take you anywhere or reveal any new insights means I've wasted my time. Only 2 out of 10 stars for the acting and the cinematography.
Take your heart and wring it out carelessly...a drippy abusive flop
Incendiary (2008)
A kind of British version of 9/11 that is interesting for its vision of a London-based terrorist disaster, but which is overwrought, sentimental, and sensational. It tries to temper this by making the heroine moodily (deeply) unhappy in her adultery (or unhappy enough to be adulterous), and by having the resulting relationship take on surprising seriousness.
And this is where the movie has some interest. I'm not sure Michelle William's role as the mother and bereaved is exceptional any more than Ewan McGregor is as the interloper playboy turned sensitive (and who has a really minor role). Both seem like functionary clichés. It's a serious movie overall, and increasingly sad. But it's loaded with tricks to make it catchy, including the whole unconvincing second half where an investigation takes place against unlikely odds.
The music is overbearing (drippy strings and piano), and the manipulations almost cheap (stuffed animals, pictures and movies of loved ones), almost like a quickie made-for-TV affair. Which is too bad because there are other aspects that are moving. It's a good idea to have the British visit this and try to empathize through a movie this way.
A giveaway to its motivations (and those of the director Sharon Maguire) is a voice-over at the end, as a baby is being born, that is a direct plea to Osama Bin Laden to stop training people to be violent killers. We all wish that would be so. So if this movie is just for Osama, fine. For the rest of us, it's nearly unbearably trite and shameless.
A kind of British version of 9/11 that is interesting for its vision of a London-based terrorist disaster, but which is overwrought, sentimental, and sensational. It tries to temper this by making the heroine moodily (deeply) unhappy in her adultery (or unhappy enough to be adulterous), and by having the resulting relationship take on surprising seriousness.
And this is where the movie has some interest. I'm not sure Michelle William's role as the mother and bereaved is exceptional any more than Ewan McGregor is as the interloper playboy turned sensitive (and who has a really minor role). Both seem like functionary clichés. It's a serious movie overall, and increasingly sad. But it's loaded with tricks to make it catchy, including the whole unconvincing second half where an investigation takes place against unlikely odds.
The music is overbearing (drippy strings and piano), and the manipulations almost cheap (stuffed animals, pictures and movies of loved ones), almost like a quickie made-for-TV affair. Which is too bad because there are other aspects that are moving. It's a good idea to have the British visit this and try to empathize through a movie this way.
A giveaway to its motivations (and those of the director Sharon Maguire) is a voice-over at the end, as a baby is being born, that is a direct plea to Osama Bin Laden to stop training people to be violent killers. We all wish that would be so. So if this movie is just for Osama, fine. For the rest of us, it's nearly unbearably trite and shameless.
- secondtake
- Sep 24, 2010
- Permalink
Intolerable
An adulterous British woman tries to cope with the loss of her husband and infant son to a terrorist bombing at a soccer match. This film is a complete disaster, failing on all levels. The main problem is a script that seems to have no rhyme or reason and becomes increasingly dreary. The woman suffers from delusions and has random relationships with a reporter and a colleague of her husband's, but none of it is the least bit interesting. Williams is certainly a talented young actress but this is arguably her worst performance. She sports a thick Cockney accent that may be authentic sounding, but is also annoying and nearly incomprehensible.
Everyone is a critic!
I have seen a negative review on this movie and I have to say that I am very tired of people picking apart movies to show how smart they think they are! This was a tragic and beautifully filmed movie that reminded me so much of The Sweet Hereafter. I believe that some people have a hard time watching others go through tragedy and grief and are uncomfortable expressing themselves. This movie drew a lump to my throat the size of a golf ball and made me hug my son extra hard at bedtime. Michelle Williams gives another outstanding performance and Ewan MacGregor is, as always, a complete pleasure to watch on screen. This film will come out on DVD this year and I would urge anyone with a heart to embrace it.
They should have set fire to the last 30 pages of the script
Cod Mockney Melodrama
This cod mockney melodrama from the director of Bridget Jones Diary fails at every level. It's clearly a film involving working class characters made by middle class people with both characters and plot lacking any authenticity and credibility whatsoever. In fact, the basic premise of Bridget Jones is transposed to this disastrous attempt at making a serious drama. Instead of writing a diary she writes letters to Osama Bin Laden. Instead of getting caught in a love triangle between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant she gets caught in a love triangle with two equally wet englishmen, uncomfortably played by Ewan MacGregor and Matthew Macfadayen, and all this, after her poor husband and son have been blown to bits in an unconvincing attack on Arsenal football stadium whilst she was shagging the local taloid newspaper reporter! The mawkish sentimentality that ensues is unbearable. In a preposterous celebration of London's blitz spirit, the faces of the victims are printed on the side of WWII air balloons which float above the city in every shot. And Michelle Williams, who miraculously found her sons toy rabbit in the ruins of the football stadium, clutches it to her chest in almost every scene. I find it hard to believe that this ill conceived script ever made it past treatment stage, particularly when so many established UK film companies like CH4 were involved in its development and finance. I find it equally hard to believe that the film was selected to screen at prestigious festivals like Sundance.This film is a worrying indictment of the failings of a the British film industry.
What The...?
I've got good news, & I've got bad news.
The good? Michelle is very fine - convincing sad mommy, Barbie cute, emoticon deluxe. E.McG - not around enough. There must have been an editing mess with this one. The first part of the film suggests he would have had a bigger role. Our loss.
The bad? THIS IS NOT AN ACTION MOVIE!!!! It's a ruminative, junky, maudlin, meandering mess masquerading as an action movie. No guts, no punch. It takes a long time to say - & you will be half asleep at this point - that, gee, Osama should just listen to the sad mommas out there & he wouldn't be such a bad dude. Aww!
NO. This is idiotic. Terrorists are NOT good daddies. Not possible.
The whole thing takes a long time to develop & then falls apart in bathetic babbling.
The good? Michelle is very fine - convincing sad mommy, Barbie cute, emoticon deluxe. E.McG - not around enough. There must have been an editing mess with this one. The first part of the film suggests he would have had a bigger role. Our loss.
The bad? THIS IS NOT AN ACTION MOVIE!!!! It's a ruminative, junky, maudlin, meandering mess masquerading as an action movie. No guts, no punch. It takes a long time to say - & you will be half asleep at this point - that, gee, Osama should just listen to the sad mommas out there & he wouldn't be such a bad dude. Aww!
NO. This is idiotic. Terrorists are NOT good daddies. Not possible.
The whole thing takes a long time to develop & then falls apart in bathetic babbling.
- girlocelot
- Jul 30, 2009
- Permalink
Unnecessarily complicated storyline
- maskedmovieman
- Aug 11, 2011
- Permalink
Not my cup of tea
To me, this is one of those "love it or hate it" movies.
I started watching this movie because I adore Matthew Macfadyen. I note that some reviewers said they also watched it because they liked one of the main actors.
However, even this adoration couldn't carry me through the whole movie. The plots and sub-plots were too bizarre and after 45 minutes, I stopped watching. Then I tried to continue for another 15 minutes but eventually abandoned it altogether. No, I don't want to know what happened to her in the end.
I gave this movie 2 stars, one each for Matthew Macfadyen and the director for trying.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch an episode of Spooks, or maybe Homeland.
I started watching this movie because I adore Matthew Macfadyen. I note that some reviewers said they also watched it because they liked one of the main actors.
However, even this adoration couldn't carry me through the whole movie. The plots and sub-plots were too bizarre and after 45 minutes, I stopped watching. Then I tried to continue for another 15 minutes but eventually abandoned it altogether. No, I don't want to know what happened to her in the end.
I gave this movie 2 stars, one each for Matthew Macfadyen and the director for trying.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch an episode of Spooks, or maybe Homeland.