I think the controversy with the director being angry that the film didn't get a theatrical release was probably a set up to get some free publicity. Doug Liman doesn't seem that stupid from what I've seen so even though it appears to be shot for the big screen, why would he care that much. He later when to the only theatre screening at the premier with the cast and said that he admitted he had lost so he wanted to be with the cast and crew to see it on the big screen. If he was genuinely so proud of this then he's just another hack.
Pretty much everyone is miscast in this film but that's not the worst aspect of it. I like Gyllenhaal but he's too nice so he didn't have the right vibe and wasn't able to make the transition to let his demons surface when his character arc called for it. McGregor has a certain quality that could have worked if he was able to be directed better and Doug Liman was discerning enough as a director to use his film making skills to mould the film around the capabilities of a non-professional like Connor. Maybe McGregor will do another film with a better director and he will surprise everyone (probably not, but maybe). Billy Magnussen didn't have the screen presence to play the head honcho and when he is sharing the screen with experienced bad guy actor Joaquim de Almeida, it makes it even more obvious. Daniela Melchior is clearly very attractive but it seemed like they deliberately make he look much more plain and the light romantic plot never really rang true.
Arturo Castro was actually the one actor who I felt came out looking good. He played the charmingly foolish Moe quite well.
I didn't expect so many people to be complaining about the editing effects in the fights, I thought they were bad but I guess I underestimated how many viewers are turned into that stuff these days. Early in the film they tried to use digital effects to make some head punches look more realistic and later they just went a bit nuts in the edit. Whether they were trying to mask failings in how they shot it or planned the effects is unclear. It was a dog's breakfast either way. When you have a lead that has put in so much work to get ready for the role and his main adversary is played by a real fighter, how does a director think that their fights will look better if augmented with special effects?
The "emotional" turns of the film fell flat and as a result Dalton's actions lacked the required motivation to make them ring true. He is unbelievably calm in every fight even having conversations about how his opponents will need medical care before he has even started beating them. This seems like it would be cocky and facetious but Dalton then shows that he cares about the well being of these thugs. When his "big" secret is revealed it doesn't ring true that the Dalton we are watching was once the guy described. The fact that even when he lets his demons loose he still acts with the same calm demeanor and never really seems to lose control
Review by Jacob PaintBlockedParent2024-03-24T12:10:04Z
I think the controversy with the director being angry that the film didn't get a theatrical release was probably a set up to get some free publicity. Doug Liman doesn't seem that stupid from what I've seen so even though it appears to be shot for the big screen, why would he care that much. He later when to the only theatre screening at the premier with the cast and said that he admitted he had lost so he wanted to be with the cast and crew to see it on the big screen. If he was genuinely so proud of this then he's just another hack.
Pretty much everyone is miscast in this film but that's not the worst aspect of it. I like Gyllenhaal but he's too nice so he didn't have the right vibe and wasn't able to make the transition to let his demons surface when his character arc called for it. McGregor has a certain quality that could have worked if he was able to be directed better and Doug Liman was discerning enough as a director to use his film making skills to mould the film around the capabilities of a non-professional like Connor. Maybe McGregor will do another film with a better director and he will surprise everyone (probably not, but maybe). Billy Magnussen didn't have the screen presence to play the head honcho and when he is sharing the screen with experienced bad guy actor Joaquim de Almeida, it makes it even more obvious. Daniela Melchior is clearly very attractive but it seemed like they deliberately make he look much more plain and the light romantic plot never really rang true.
Arturo Castro was actually the one actor who I felt came out looking good. He played the charmingly foolish Moe quite well.
I didn't expect so many people to be complaining about the editing effects in the fights, I thought they were bad but I guess I underestimated how many viewers are turned into that stuff these days. Early in the film they tried to use digital effects to make some head punches look more realistic and later they just went a bit nuts in the edit. Whether they were trying to mask failings in how they shot it or planned the effects is unclear. It was a dog's breakfast either way. When you have a lead that has put in so much work to get ready for the role and his main adversary is played by a real fighter, how does a director think that their fights will look better if augmented with special effects?
The "emotional" turns of the film fell flat and as a result Dalton's actions lacked the required motivation to make them ring true. He is unbelievably calm in every fight even having conversations about how his opponents will need medical care before he has even started beating them. This seems like it would be cocky and facetious but Dalton then shows that he cares about the well being of these thugs. When his "big" secret is revealed it doesn't ring true that the Dalton we are watching was once the guy described. The fact that even when he lets his demons loose he still acts with the same calm demeanor and never really seems to lose control