Review of Term Life (2016) by Chris D — 13 Sep 2016

Wasn't really much of anything. In terms of story: Some of the actions of the characters didn't make any sense, the stakes weren't high enough to arouse any emotion, and the daughter was given a guitar but I never got to hear her play it (which I was looking forward to, especially since Hailee is a great musician).

A lot of the stuff Vince Vaughn's character says in narration either has no significance and just annoys the viewer, or is narration. If a movie is any good, it doesn't need narration to deliver plot. Nobody care's if Nick is having a shit day, his daughter has just been kidnapped, no shit Sherlock.

And why was he telling us about Cate's mum's trouble. Don't force me to care about a character that has no impact on the story you're telling. I don't care, and I won't care.

The script was kind of shitty too. Just one example of that is when Vince's character is shouting at Jon Favreau's character and says "I WANNA SEE HIM NOW. AND I WANNA SEE HIM TODAY!" As though those are two different demands that mean completely different things.

I give it the two stars for the two things it did well:

- It wasn't completely predictable like all the other hot trash they call good these days.

- The casting was decent, especially with my girl Hailee Steinfeld and Vince Vaughn.

There were also a lot of scenes and time wasted on shots that didn't need to be there. If they'd used the time more wisely, they could've told the story better, with better scripting and a little more creative breathing space.

That's my rating and criticism.

Cheers,.

Benjamin Bailey.