Mile 22

Going in: I didn't read any reviews. I think this will be a basic action flick without a lot of depth. I did notice that it had lost a lot of showings for only being 3 weeks old.

Popcorn: 7/10. I'd watch it on TV and rent it if my son wanted to watch it. It's not a bad movie but not a great one either. I read some of the reviews after and not many liked it. I see the potential and I think it was just the characterization that messed it up. I'm convinced that character subconciously drives enjoyment. More on that in a bit.

Art: 5/10. All the elements were there for a great film but ultimately not enough. As I say below, it's like a recipe that looks amazing based on the ingredients but then ultimately falls flat.

Acting: 2/3. Not a lot of great acting here. It was enjoyable but it was hard to picture Wahlberg as a a**hole. That took some getting used to. In the end, I accepted it but it was difficult. They didn't have much for Malkovich.

Music: 1/2. The music was pretty bland. Nothing popped or swelled.

Filming: 1/2. It didn't pull me out (one review talked about the cinematography being awful but I think it was more the editing).

Art Dept: 1/2. Again, nothing stood out.

Editing: 0/2. Okay this kills me. I've mentioned in reviews that I wish editors could strut their stuff a bit more but unfortunately this was taken too far in one scene. It made me dizzy and there was a couple of cut where actions were obviously cut early. I could tell they were trying, but it fell flat.

Story: 2/4. There was a lot about power and violence in this movie, about how diplomacy didn't take well. Given that it's an action movie, I think they skipped over the diplomacy right off the bat. But, there were other problems. An entire subplot in the first act never gets resolved. Characters were a little too flawed. It was hard. Most of the pieces were there for a great movie but in the end I had a hard time buying it. There was no internal arc for the characters.

And that's where I think people didn't like the movie. It's about violence and power and the main character is given to violence and power but then no emotional journey about power and violence. It's like a recipe where you think all the ingredients sound amazing. But then it's just bland.

Directing: 2/3. For an action movie, I didn't have any problems with the action except for one scene where it looked like the editor was trying for a flourish and ended up killing the scene.

Production: 1/2. I don't think the final cut of this movie needed to be told. There was no heft to it, not emotional depth. It was like reading a news article or an interview. It was just the facts.