Review of Frailty (2012) by Danny G — 31 Mar 2012

Making a list and checking it twice... But he's no Santa...

Just your average film about destroying demons.

The Story: The father of two young boys believes that God wants them to kill demons disguised as people. A little absurd? Maybe. It's mainly told from the perspective of the oldest boy, who doesn't want to kill people just because his dad is a little bit crazy. It's got some great ideas, and the story is fairly original, but it's a good sense of style that comes and goes. Sometimes it looks nice and has a pretty good atmospheric vibe to it...Other times, it just looks bland, and it doesn't help that the few special effects in this movie look terrible. It's not incredibly intense or thrilling, and that's a little disappointing, there's so many things this could have been but just failed to be.

The Cast: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Matt O'Leary...Half of this films problem is with its cast. Bill Paxton gives a stale performance as the father of the two children. I never really believed that he wanted to slay demons, maybe he should have cast someone else and just stuck with the direction of the film. He over acts, he underacts, but never just acts. This is not a good performance from him. Matt O'Leary, is young Fenton, the child that wants nothing more than to stop the madness brought into his life by his fathers religious ways. We all know how I feel about young actors, a lot of them suck. This kid is no exception, he has his moments, and in comparison to Paxton is great, but his moments are few and far between, and anyone next to Paxton here is great. Mathew McConaughey...A sigh of relief as I say this, McConaughey is this films saving grace. He gives a good performance as the older Fenton, confessing to the FBI all the things his father and brother have done. It's not his best performance, but it's by far not his worst, he is in fact, the only actor worth watching here.

One to Five Scale: 3.

A great story, marred by bad acting, bad special effects, and a style that couldn't decide if it was coming or going. A worthy rental for the casual movie viewer, but for those looking for something well written, deep, and thought provoking look elsewhere.

Tyler.