Review of Red State (2011) by Alexandre S — 24 Jul 2012

Three boys looking for sex encounter a murderous religious cult that is being attacked by the ATF.

I hate to say it, but Kevin Smith is on a losing streak. Getting away from the immature, lower-class characters who characterized his early work and moving to action films like Cop Out has not treated Smith well. And Red State combines action with political undercurrents. I don't disagree with Smith's points - that religious zealotry leads to blindness, that the government doesn't always have everybody's well-being in mind, and that parts of the populace have too many guns and too little common sense. What I found troubling about the film was Smith's concentration on style over substance and his curious inability to construct a viable character arc. It is as though Smith set out to prove wrong everybody who said his direction was stagnant, and every time I found myself attached to a plot line, the character would die or the film would shift focus, never to return. The film truly is uncharacteristically uneven.

I did like Michael Parks's performance who plays the reverend with an odd combination of slyness and earnestness; one can never tell if he believes what he's saying, but he's convincing enough that one might understand why the proper audience might follow him.

Overall, Smith's latest is not a good film, and no matter how accurate his rifle of satire is, without a good story, the film will invariably be off the mark.