Review of The Counselor (2013) by Lane Z — 11 Mar 2014

There was a reviewer who I think nailed this movie on the head; "I think I liked The Counselor?".

When I have too much time to think about it, the movie definitely fails to deliver on expectations from its stellar cast and actual reasonable plot. You have to pay close attention to some of the conversations, which I'm not against when watching a movie. It doesn't always have to be all action and brawn and violence. The thing is, with how wordy the dialogue is, Ridley Scott and Cormac McCarthy sort of forgot about giving the audience any resolution with who this movie is about. Michael Fassbender is excellent in most performances he gives, and I don't mind you never know his real name. He's always referred to as 'The Counselor'. However, without much background on him or any type of explanation other than money problems and greed forcing him to get into bed with the bad guys, I don't much understand his plight.

Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz had some nice scenes together, but Diaz didn't quite work for me as the conniving she-devil she turned out to be. Javier Bardem flashes his goofy smile with his goofy hair quite a bit and Brad Pitt yet again cameos his appearance with some well delivered lines with that Pitt mystique.

I think what's most disappointing is when you've finished watching, you think to yourself, damn this could have turned into a great cartel/drug/suspense thriller if only the characters were toned a little more and story given some depth instead of the philosophy spouting these characters seemed intent on doing.