I was certainly interested after seeing the trailer. It looked like the type of thriller that we do not see that often. So with a pretty solid cast and premise, that was more than enough to give this a chance and the deserved box office.
However, I feared that I had seen pretty much the film in the trailer as it seemed to leave little to the imagination. Thankfully, I was wrong.
It is a lot more suspenseful then I thought it would be. I was impressed with Foster's directing as they were really invested in the story and its characters. Also, it definitely relates to current topics that we can definitely be interested in. It even makes great use of modern technology and entertainment which certainly surprised me and even made me laugh out loud.
There was one particular scene towards the end that made me gasp, which I was not expecting to do in this film.
The performances were pretty good and they drove the film to become the fun watch that it is. George Clooney was a good lead and played a character that developed really well throughout.
Jack O'Connell was a strong supporting role. He really pulled his New York accent brilliantly well. You would never know that he was originally from Derby. He continues to impress me in anything that he does, and I cannot wait for his next project.
However for me, Julia Roberts was the big stand-out. It has been a while since I have seen a good Roberts performance, and this ended up being a big scene stealer as the main supporting role.
Lots of other positives to talk about. The script had a bit of everything. It was entertaining, it kept me gripped and even had me laughing at times especially one scene towards the end.
I also liked was the snappy duration. In an age where big films feel like they need to be around 2hrs 30mins to get their point across. It is rare that we see a 90 minute film that cuts to the chase, and gets out at the right time. Whilst it did not seem to drag at all. It did not feel like the duration that it was officially given.
I am happy to see Jodie Foster make her first critically successful film as director in what is certainly her most expensive and accessible movie as director to date.
It is certainly one of these types of films that we do not see that often and it would be great if this at least got a respectable box office taking.
It has clear similarities to Inside Man with also subtle hints of Dog Day Afternoon, Network and even one scene that is very much like the final scene in The Truman Show. However, the Spike Lee film felt better executed with much more interesting characters. That being said, this is still a fun film with good performances and is refreshing to see something that we were used to seeing in the 90's.
Rating: 7/10
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