jake gyllenhaal again - his status - 'if he's in it then see it'
hugh jackman - take or leave - still not forgiven for chappie
missed this one on main release even though it hit the see-list
so in catch-up mode it now gets the prior intended attention
opening scene - a wood - tall trees - a deer - a rifle - a shot
good shot son - keller drover (jackman) to his son ralph
instantly reminding me of the banality of american sniper
on the way home in the truck keller dishes out life lessons
be prepared son - always be prepared - for anything, anytime
back home and the nuclear family of 4 is off to a neighbours
a (black) family across the street - mom, dad and 2 daughters
it's wet, bleak and the houses are run-down - suburban america
the parents cosily buddy up as do the teenagers ralph and eliza
anna and kyla are the 2 youngest daughters also now teaming up
being watched outside by their siblings climbing on a parked van
a view from inside the campervan - an empty bottle - uh-oh - bad
the young girls then ask to head back to the drover house - sure
and of course they disappear and the van is gone - panic sets in
the police swarm with detective loki (gyllenhaal) put in charge
looking a bit psychotic - wide eyes blinking, hair greased back
seen approaching the van which speeds off and crashes into a tree
the driver aggressively arrested and then in a police interview room
alex has the iq of a ten year old - released - no capability or evidence
keller now raging and hoons up in his truck and crash-tackles alex
this after alex tells only keller - they were happy when i left them
keller the desperate father screaming disbelief at the hapless loki
no choice but to allow alex to return to his custodian aunt holly
and so the scene is set - gone girls, mad dad, lax laws, free crim
keller now plays lawmaker - kidnaps alex and locks him away
this in his own childhood home now delapidated and abandoned
he applies his own interview techniques - repeat face-punching
which i think is about where i gave up wanting to like this film
the cynic in me now enjoying multiple reasons to pull it apart
for one - hugh jackman - look at me - i can be a serious actor
i can use the stutter effect to demonstrate my sheer disbelief
i can punch holes in (false) walls and (air) punch faces easily
i can use my big voice to shout and threaten at the same time
me - all i can see is hugh jackman playing the role of peter allen
as for jake gyllenhaal - points for trying but he looks kind of bored
his best acting here being to show some interest in this average flick
he also resorting to lowest-common-denominator smash it up stuff
i look for a character, any character that has some flicker of appeal
but there is no-one - they are all miserable, angry, weak or troubled
and man it drags on and on and on - 153 minutes of it - too much
filled out with a side plot of a loner who lays false abduction clues
he steals the kids clothes, smears over pigs blood and stashes them
in boxes also filled with live snakes - oh how creepy - lol actually
he eventually written out with him shooting himself under arrest
and then there's a priest with a mummified pedophile in his cellar
huh? what? - watch out kids - if the law doesn't get you god will?
the finale - one of the girls magically shows up - no explanation
alex's aunt is the guilty one - keller accuses her - she pulls a gun
she forces him into a underground bunker and then drives off
his daughter also shows up - as does loki at the aunt's house
the end - at long last - what a shocker - maybe a mood thing
generally raved about though i agree with this damning review
this film should really have been a one hour e.g. csi episode
lost in all the other stupid, insipid, mediocre american tv
maybe this is/was a pilot for a tv series - it fits the bill
no imagination, no originality, no satisfaction, no soul
so yes well - no - i didn't like it at all - next please...
