Review of A Good Year (2006) by Cameron J — 15 Jun 2011

From the director of "Blade Runner", "Gladiator", "Black Hawk Down" and "American Gangter" comes a romantic comedy. Of course, the funny thing is that this isn't that boring. Of all Ridley Scott movies to not be tortuously dull. If he was going to deviate from his routine, then he should have dropped the long-time business partner. Maybe Crowe could have worked if this was one of his very first movies and was buried in the sands of time, like "The Crossing" and "Heaven's Burning". And yet, a neo-nazi, an emotionally unstabble police officer, a war hero-turned slave-turned warrior looking to avenge the death of his family and a genius slipping into miserable insanity later, here he is, plowing face-first into a heap of cow manure in an abandoned pool after the diving board he was standing on collapsed. Well, maybe it also would have worked better if he did this film much more recently, when it would make more since for something to collapse from underneath him.

Of course, the director and leading man being out of their element is not the film's only flaw. While the film is supported by good cenimatography, the occasional good joke and a decent story, it suffers from such flaws as bad dialogue, a corny score and soundtrack, painful cliches, a lack of realism and a lot of fall-flate jokes. As much as I've complained about the film, it does get better as it progresses and gets to a good point soon enough to ultimately be a decently enjoyable watch. Still, that doesn't completely excuse "A Good Year" for being yet another paint-by-numbers cheesy romantic comedy with the only evidence to support the legendary Ridley Scott's presence being his total lack of preparation for a film this far - and I mean far - out of his element. In the hands of a more adaptive director, it would have been fairly good, if not great.