Enjoyable if forgettable
Added 11/22/2009
The Bottom Line:
When you walk away and think about the plot of State of Play there are a dozen plot holes and the denouement falls rather flat, but it works as a solid thriller while you're watching it, providing two hours of fast-moving entertainment without seeming to insult your intelligence; if you want a disposable 120 minutes of movie fun, by all means check this film out.
3/4
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Good fun political thriller
Added 11/21/2009
This was a good political thriller after a while. If I may digress a little bit, how come there are never enough good political thrillers?
Crowe as usual is good. Rachel McAdams is believable and Ben Affleck and Robin Wright Penn turn in good performances. On the Blu-ray disc, the dark recesses of DC and the dark nature of politics appeared as they should- dark and creepy. Good transfer. Great sound. I have a minor peeve about the extras on the disc or lack of thereof but still enjoyed a good thriller. Now I want to see the BBC miniseries which it is based on.
For folks looking for an adult political thriller, here is one. Enjoy!
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Crackling Political Thriller
Added 11/15/2009
For the first two-thirds or so I thought this flick was teetering toward predictability. In the last third is when some decent twists and red herrings start to kick in. At this point you find yourself riveted to the screen. The denouement is plausible and definitely not a cop-out. The film is distinguished by top-notch direction, writing, and acting particularly Ben Affleck as a disgraced congressman. I note Affleck becuase lately he's been making his mark not only in this film but in "Hollywoodland" where he was stupendous as the late actor George Reeves. "State of Play" isn't a particularly great film but better than the average fare.
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A thriller for adults.
Added 11/13/2009
An intelligent thriller about journalistic integrity and political corruption.
Russell Crowe leads an excellent ensemble cast in this story of a corrupt Congressman and the challenges of traditional news gathering in this age of blogs and the 24-hour news cycle. Ben Affleck is surprisingly good as the Congressman ... perhaps he should stick to ensemble pieces like this and shy away from leading man roles. Helen Mirren is a standout as the beleagured newspaper boss, caught between her corporate bosses and her desire for journalistic excellence. Robin Wright Penn and Jeff Daniels round out the excellent cast.
Tight plotting, a shocking twist near the end, a welcome lack of explosions, and just a small amount of R-rated language make this an excellent adult thriller, very welcome in this age when most movies are aimed at 15-year-old boys.
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Riveting and timely
Added 11/10/2009
Perhaps I could have rated State of Play five stars if I hadn't seen the BBC miniseries. As good as the movie is, it is limited by the medium and could only provide broad hints of the subplots that made the BBC series so rich and suspenseful. However, this movie is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.
The cast is outstanding. Russell Crowe is superb as the driven reporter who is personally involved in a story that threatens to destroy his Congressman friend, played by Ben Affleck. Affleck is underrated as an actor; his portrayal of Stephen Collins is finely nuanced and convincing. Rachel McAdams is brave and naive as the ambitious cub reporter who longs to be taken seriously and Robin Wright Penn is nicely sympathtic as Collins' wronged and wronging wife. Helen Mirren is forceful and profane as Cal's editor, though sometimes it seemed she didn't quite understand what an editor actually does. Still, though it's possible to nit-pick--why would the writers have Collins openly weep at a Congressional hearing, for example--all these things are necessary to the plot, which is necessarily limited by time. See above.
State of Play is great entertainment, and addresses the issue of what we have a right to expect from elected officials. How sad it is that thirty years after All The President's Men, this continues to be an issue worth investing millions into a movie?
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Enjoyable if forgettable
Added 11/22/2009
The Bottom Line:
When you walk away and think about the plot of State of Play there are a dozen plot holes and the denouement falls rather flat, but it works as a solid thriller while you're watching it, providing two hours of fast-moving entertainment without seeming to insult your intelligence; if you want a disposable 120 minutes of movie fun, by all means check this film out.
3/4
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Good fun political thriller
Added 11/21/2009
This was a good political thriller after a while. If I may digress a little bit, how come there are never enough good political thrillers?
Crowe as usual is good. Rachel McAdams is believable and Ben Affleck and Robin Wright Penn turn in good performances. On the Blu-ray disc, the dark recesses of DC and the dark nature of politics appeared as they should- dark and creepy. Good transfer. Great sound. I have a minor peeve about the extras on the disc or lack of thereof but still enjoyed a good thriller. Now I want to see the BBC miniseries which it is based on.
For folks looking for an adult political thriller, here is one. Enjoy!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Crackling Political Thriller
Added 11/15/2009
For the first two-thirds or so I thought this flick was teetering toward predictability. In the last third is when some decent twists and red herrings start to kick in. At this point you find yourself riveted to the screen. The denouement is plausible and definitely not a cop-out. The film is distinguished by top-notch direction, writing, and acting particularly Ben Affleck as a disgraced congressman. I note Affleck becuase lately he's been making his mark not only in this film but in "Hollywoodland" where he was stupendous as the late actor George Reeves. "State of Play" isn't a particularly great film but better than the average fare.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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