Review of Out of the Furnace (2013) by Dana F — 13 May 2014
Be prepared, this is pretty violent flick. What's odd is that for a movie that's so violent, it's also surprisingly quiet. I loved the first scene, it starts things out with a bang, but as I soon discovered, it sets the totally wrong tone for the rest of the film.
It's advertised as a suspense/thriller, but there is no suspense in this movie, and certainly no thrills. It's more of a sleepy character drama... with blood. Both the direction and the performances are solid, particularly Woody Harrelson, who was utterly convincing as the ultra bad guy.
Where the movie fails is that the plot just doesn't move fast enough to keep the audience interested in the story, and despite the violence, there really isn't much going on here. I've seen this movie a hundred times, and with the exception of a one shocking moment, it's formulaic and predictable.
I was also turned off by the much-too-overt symbolism that is present throughout the movie... I mean, the finale takes place IN AN ACTUAL FURNACE. Seriously?? This one is a slow burn that sparks in the middle but then slowly fizzles out.
This review of Out of the Furnace (2013) was written by Dana F on 13 May 2014.
Out of the Furnace has generally received positive reviews.
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