Beirut
A ex-government diplomat must go to Beirut to negotiate the release of an american intelligence agent.
I will point out what the movie does right. It sets up the Israel-Palestine conflict very well. Its got the locations. The look and feel of the time period and region. It plays out like a high concept thriller as opposed to a cheap action thriller. It deals with complex political Jargon rather than simple dialogue for the convenience of audience. So in a way it forces audience to keep up. Lead is decent enough for the movie. The feel of multiple nationalities working together in foreign land is made clear. The quiet uncertainty and danger of the land is well displayed.Brooding lead is well set up.
But then what's the problem one might ask.You run into a problem with movies like these if, the director is just happy he gets to make a movie. The actors are just happy they were cast in this movie. The directors job is to make a decent thriller all while satisfying the financiers. All these are red flags that the movie will be mediocre at best. You know what you are getting and most often thats what you get. The worst part is your expectations are at a very low bar. That's exactly the problem with this movie. You know that the script and production behind this movie is cheap when you have Jon Hamm as lead. If the script was excellent you would be getting Matt Damon in the lead with Paul Greengrass directing. The relationship between Jon Hamm and the kid from his past is just badly written. This is one of those movies where the director is concerned about not making a bad commercial movie ended up making a safe boring movie. The thing about movies set in middle east is that I have seen only 5-6 movies set in middle east but for some reason it feels like I have seen 100 movies. That means each and every shot is seen somewhere in some political thriller set in middle east. Guy with guns on the roads. Unattended children turning to living a criminal life. Shady american diplomats doing the dirty work to keep things under check. All these are tired movie tropes.
This movie is the very definition of mediocrity. I can see why the actors chose to be in it. Because they don't have very many great opportunities. Most of the times actors choose from the options they have. If all the options are crap then what they choose is the better crap.But its still crap. I don't have any advice for the actors because I empathize with their situation. Not everyone is offered the role of Bruce Wayne. But directors need to do better. This movie is begging to be forgotten. Its saying to audience - "forget me as soon as you get out of the movies ". It doesn't know what it wants to be a political awareness movie or a fictional story in real world with something to say. Stakes are not high enough. I can't give a pass to movies like these. Because this is playing it safe from the get go. Subtle differences from traditional story telling is never a good thing. You have to take 180 from the get go. That's when movies become memorable.
A ex-government diplomat must go to Beirut to negotiate the release of an american intelligence agent.
I will point out what the movie does right. It sets up the Israel-Palestine conflict very well. Its got the locations. The look and feel of the time period and region. It plays out like a high concept thriller as opposed to a cheap action thriller. It deals with complex political Jargon rather than simple dialogue for the convenience of audience. So in a way it forces audience to keep up. Lead is decent enough for the movie. The feel of multiple nationalities working together in foreign land is made clear. The quiet uncertainty and danger of the land is well displayed.Brooding lead is well set up.
But then what's the problem one might ask.You run into a problem with movies like these if, the director is just happy he gets to make a movie. The actors are just happy they were cast in this movie. The directors job is to make a decent thriller all while satisfying the financiers. All these are red flags that the movie will be mediocre at best. You know what you are getting and most often thats what you get. The worst part is your expectations are at a very low bar. That's exactly the problem with this movie. You know that the script and production behind this movie is cheap when you have Jon Hamm as lead. If the script was excellent you would be getting Matt Damon in the lead with Paul Greengrass directing. The relationship between Jon Hamm and the kid from his past is just badly written. This is one of those movies where the director is concerned about not making a bad commercial movie ended up making a safe boring movie. The thing about movies set in middle east is that I have seen only 5-6 movies set in middle east but for some reason it feels like I have seen 100 movies. That means each and every shot is seen somewhere in some political thriller set in middle east. Guy with guns on the roads. Unattended children turning to living a criminal life. Shady american diplomats doing the dirty work to keep things under check. All these are tired movie tropes.
This movie is the very definition of mediocrity. I can see why the actors chose to be in it. Because they don't have very many great opportunities. Most of the times actors choose from the options they have. If all the options are crap then what they choose is the better crap.But its still crap. I don't have any advice for the actors because I empathize with their situation. Not everyone is offered the role of Bruce Wayne. But directors need to do better. This movie is begging to be forgotten. Its saying to audience - "forget me as soon as you get out of the movies ". It doesn't know what it wants to be a political awareness movie or a fictional story in real world with something to say. Stakes are not high enough. I can't give a pass to movies like these. Because this is playing it safe from the get go. Subtle differences from traditional story telling is never a good thing. You have to take 180 from the get go. That's when movies become memorable.
Last edited by aronisred; 02-18-19 at 11:53 PM.