Review of The Drop (2006) by Matt C — 06 Jan 2015

I hate to sound like a cynic, but I feel like a fair amount of this movie's positive reception is because it features James Gandolfini's last performance. It at least had to be contributing factor.

While the acting is solid and it has a fitting aesthetic, the characters and plot are very cookie cutter. It's entertaining for what it is for the first half, but then it starts to drag on. It's not to say that it doesn't try stuff new, but when it does, it's too little and too late.

The plot gets convoluted and doesn't actually add up completely in retrospect, and for a movie that's 106 minutes, it still could have been around 20 minutes shorter. The one thing that is odd, however, is Tom Hardy's character.

It isn't because of the acting, which is very good despite his accent occasionally slipping around, but because of the writing. There are some things said or acted by him that just come off as either odd or unconfidently humorous.

The atmosphere set here is good and the costume design is very convincing, as are the sets. In the end, however, it's just another mob movie with a mildly surprising twist ending. 5.7/10, meh, one thumb down, average, etc.