Review of The Counselor (2013) by Karan K — 12 Mar 2014

The Counselor is infested with clunky dialogue, and a convoluted plot that barely goes anywhere in this thriller less film.

A counselor (Michael Fassbender) joins a drug deal in trafficking while his decisions can be a big consequences to the people around him.

It is nice to see a movie with a few talented actors like Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, and Brad Pitt. But does having this much talent in one movie even save it from being terrible? No, it rarely has a plot that is shadowed from every character going scene-to-scene sharing monologue wordy conversations that rarely focuses on the main story. There are like several scenes that felt unneeded and had no development to the plot. The script was not bad it just never even focused on any story progression and is really hoping the audience is catching the meaning to each scene and picking up when everything clashes together. Sure, it has a theme concept of characters actions in being greedy and the consequences it can have on them.

I also love the fact that the main characters name in the movie is never revealed and is only known as "the counselor." Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, and Brad Pitt were perfect with their characters. The costume designer must have enjoyed flashing each character and their distinct looks. Even the cinematographer Dariusz Wolski deserves some praise for some outstanding camera shots with the movie.

This is one of Ridley Scotts disappointing movies that is difficult to even care for on what was going on with the settings. This is Cormac McCarthy first adapted screenplay after all his novelty work and the script felt like it had all the necessary monotones to the character but no connection to each individual scene. The Counselor is a let down of a thriller film with such a big talented casts.