Jun 09, 2016
You know, I don't know if I've made it obvious in any of my reviews of movies that have Sam Rockwell in then, then you should probably know that I love this man. As an actor I mean and not necessarily as anything else, just thought I'd have to make that clear. Anyway, I think this guy is fantastic and he makes every movie he's in better just by being in them. He's one of those rare actors that can do that. Rockwell was in The Sitter, the one with Jonah Hill, and he was, easily, the best part of that movie. And, really, he's been in some not so good movies that he's the best part of, that's just the kind of actor that he is. And it just seems like shooting a film with the guy would be a blast, I don't know why, but it just seems that way. And I love Anna Kendrick as well, I really do. She's adorably dorky, but she's also really talented and her and Sam Rockwell make a good pairing in this film. But the fact of the matter is that the script around her isn't exactly great. Parts of this film, somehow, remind me of God Bless America from Bobcat Goldthwait. Well, minus the wit. I had some problems with God Bless America, but I felt that it, at least, had some wit and something to say about the culture we live in. This is more of a simply told love story between, really, two psychopaths. But it never really feels that way, I mean Francis is a reverse hit man, he kills the people who hire to kill others since he feels 'murder is wrong', but he's a fairly likable man in all honesty. The people he kills aren't exactly innocent bystanders, so it's not like he's presented as an out-and-out psychopath. He doesn't seem unstable or prone to fits of rage. He's a fairly well-adjusted man who just happens to be a hit man. So you never really truly get a sense that this is a dangerous man that Anna Kendrick's character should, somehow, be afraid of. You can do some of that and still keep the film's tone, fairly, light, since that is what they were going for. But they didn't. And I don't think they do as much with the concept of Martha, Anna's character, becoming more of a part of Francis' activities. Like I can understand her being apprehensive at first, I mean this guy is a hit man after all. But I think the movie would've benefited a lot if Martha became more involved in her boyfriend's activities much earlier in the film than in the climax. And I understand the reasoning behind it, you wanna maintain a certain likability to Martha, but I found Francis to be likable even as he kept murdering people. You can do the same with her. Then again, she might not have been as easy to relate to if she just started killing people several minutes after she met Francis, in film time of course. But, sadly, the movie's biggest flaw, above anything else, is that it's not necessarily that funny. I mean there's a couple of chuckles here and there, but they're not sustained. Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell, as I have already mentioned, had really good chemistry together, they legitimately do make a good couple, but that's all the movie really has. I'm not saying that the film doesn't make an effort, it's not like other films where they make the minimum amount of effort and they just let the leads carry the rest of it. I'm not saying that this had maximum effort put in, but the hard work is evident here. Even if the results aren't great. I'm not saying that the film is bad, not in the slightest. Though the fact that I gave it two stars means that I didn't think it was good. A 4 out of 10 is a bad score. But, really, I feel more comfortable saying that this movie is below average. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's not a wholly terrible movie.
Verified