Lambie Reviews...

This is a decent mish-mash of heist, comedy, and outright war film. As things become more and more complicated, the standard carefree American attitude that was the typical portrayal of soldiers during this war gives way to something far more serious. This film wears its anti-war views proudly, but doesn’t get carried away with them. It uses them to move the plot forward and at the same time demonstrate just what a confusing mess Iraq was when the ceasefire was signed. It’s a fairly entertaining film, but not something you need to go out of your way to see.

This film is extremely tense, and masterfully crafted by Denis Villeneuve. There’s always a sense of unease, and there’s just the right amount of editing to keep us close up and engaged to the point where we feel like we’re on the ground with these people, while at the same time cutting away to keep the exposition flowing from a neutral standpoint. The only problem is that the ambiguities that the story offers up (intentionally) feel like we’re one step behind the story, at times trying to catch up to make sense of what we’ve just heard someone say. It’s a fantastic film, just not one that I managed to follow from start to finish in a satisfying manner.

This is classic Coen brothers, giving us a mish-mash of comedy, thriller, and crime drama. The tension is always there, and the plot constantly throws up surprises and unexpected turns. There’s a fair bit of mis-direction in what happens and what we’re shown and it’s all used to great effect. There are a couple of things that in retrospect feel like they’ve been pulled out of thin air for the purposes of moving things forward or getting things resolved, but the true achievement of this film is that its so good we don’t notice them, and when we do, we’re willing to forgive them.

Stylistically this is a great film, from the way New York is shot to the fast editing of the almost impenetrable flashbacks and imaginings of what could happen if certain actions are taken. However, plot-wise and pacing wise, not a lot feels like it happens. There’s barely any tension, and what tension there is falls flat because it becomes more and more predictable.

We don’t really see much beyond the surface of what’s actually going on, but there is definitely a sense that there’s some backstory here. This doesn’t feel frustrating, but rather a way of giving us the feel of what the characters know and don’t know themselves. There’s a mystery here that needs to be uncovered, and when we finally find out the answers it still seems we’ve only scratched the surface of this criminal network. It’s an intriguing film in that regard, but struggled to maintain my interest at other times.

If I were to go into detail I’d feel like I was just repeating myself given what I have said about A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. At just over two hours long, it feels a lot quicker, and that’s a good thing. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece of film-making that transcends the stereotypes of the traditional spaghetti western.

he premise of this film is great, and a really interesting thing to explore. However, it never truly feels like the idea is fleshed out enough or sticks around for long enough. Everything feels a bit too episodic, and I was ultimately left thinking that perhaps the film bit off more than it could chew. That’s not to say it’s a bad film, it’s not and there are some interesting sections and themes, but it left me wanting more than what it gave me.