foolishcop-589-147477
Joined Nov 2009
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Reviews2
foolishcop-589-147477's rating
Most of the reviews have encapsulated this movie correctly, both those that liked it and those that didn't. Definitely John Wick Meets Kevin McAllister, but Bob Odenkirk does a good job of selling the Nobody aspect of his character. It's a little implausible how he gets drawn back into the life (though you can have a meaningful willing suspension of disbelief), but it kind of goes off the rails as it progresses. There was definitely a lot left on the cutting room floor to make it fit the 1-1/2 hr run time, but you wouldn't want the movie to have gone on any longer than that.
It was a serviceable action movie with a good amount of action and violence that didn't get bogged down in relationship issues (despite the movie revolving around Odenkirk's family life). It's worth a watch and you won't be disappointed if you go in understanding what you'll be getting. I thought the payoff at the end was weak, though -- which is where all the Home Alone references come from -- and it could have gone for less over the top chicanery to resolve the movie. In short, if you've got 90 minutes or so to kill, it's not terrible. Not great by any stretch, and certainly not as good as I had hoped based on the trail, but a mostly entertaining yarn.
It was a serviceable action movie with a good amount of action and violence that didn't get bogged down in relationship issues (despite the movie revolving around Odenkirk's family life). It's worth a watch and you won't be disappointed if you go in understanding what you'll be getting. I thought the payoff at the end was weak, though -- which is where all the Home Alone references come from -- and it could have gone for less over the top chicanery to resolve the movie. In short, if you've got 90 minutes or so to kill, it's not terrible. Not great by any stretch, and certainly not as good as I had hoped based on the trail, but a mostly entertaining yarn.
The negative reviews baffled me and the positive ones can't do Mystery Road enough justice.
From the opening until the dramatic end, the movie is a captivating tour de force. Coming from the U.S. I'm completely ignorant of the racial biases apparently at play in the Australian Outback, and this film subtly puts them on display without having them become overbearing or preachy.
The acting is tops and Aaron Pederson does his subject well, playing him with confidence and understatement. Hugo Weaving's turn as Johnno is also a well-crafted part, not to mention all of the minor roles, all of which came across as completely believable. It's easy to say the Australian landscape had just as large a role as any of the cast, and it read its lines perfectly.
Although there were a few parts where I found it difficult to understand what was said as a result of the local accent, there was no missing the message that was delivered. Again, from beginning to end the movie hit all the right notes, and even its climatic ending delivered a superbly satisfying denouement to the whole.
I've come to appreciate films not produced in the U.S. because they all too often are so formulaic with shallowly cast characters. Mystery Road represents among the best of what I look for in a movie produced anywhere and is tops among such "foreign" films. It is definitely one to catch.
From the opening until the dramatic end, the movie is a captivating tour de force. Coming from the U.S. I'm completely ignorant of the racial biases apparently at play in the Australian Outback, and this film subtly puts them on display without having them become overbearing or preachy.
The acting is tops and Aaron Pederson does his subject well, playing him with confidence and understatement. Hugo Weaving's turn as Johnno is also a well-crafted part, not to mention all of the minor roles, all of which came across as completely believable. It's easy to say the Australian landscape had just as large a role as any of the cast, and it read its lines perfectly.
Although there were a few parts where I found it difficult to understand what was said as a result of the local accent, there was no missing the message that was delivered. Again, from beginning to end the movie hit all the right notes, and even its climatic ending delivered a superbly satisfying denouement to the whole.
I've come to appreciate films not produced in the U.S. because they all too often are so formulaic with shallowly cast characters. Mystery Road represents among the best of what I look for in a movie produced anywhere and is tops among such "foreign" films. It is definitely one to catch.