Kaka

Maybe an overly human and psychological war film, whose biggest problem is its content. There is a lack of a stronger story, so the viewer will be mostly bored throughout. The actors do a fairly good job, but their characters are not well-defined, so even though they try hard, they come off more like figurines. On the other hand, the visual aspect is precise, but all those camera filters, handheld camera, and fast cuts are practically useless without a proper script.

This project would have benefited from a better and more experienced director – which Nick Hamm definitely is not, his direction is purely technical. From the beginning up to about two thirds through, practically nothing much happens in the film, and all the explanations, including the twist, are rushed at us in the final few minutes, and the film ends surprisingly early.

Action scenes lack imagination, pace, dynamics, they are very hastily edited and mostly just boring. Alexander Witt doesn't know where to go, and he ends up drowning in the putrid waters of typical B-movie production.

The basic storyline is divided into two parts: the present (a huge fire in a building – perfectly shot, by the way) and the retrospectively narrated past, when the director introduces us to the past of Jack Morrison – the main hero of the story. But these two parts do not fit together very well and they feel like a weakly assembled puzzle. Throughout movie, there are only a few scenes that can captivate a person and somehow touch their heart. The rest is nothing but a cliché seen a thousand times over.

Ridley Scott's direction is, as always, dynamic and his camera tricks look good, but the script in this case is very weak, and the story itself is actually nonsense. I didn't like Wesley Snipes at all (where is his charisma from the Blade series), and Robert De Niro has such a terrible role that the creators might not have been serious about it.

In order for someone to really like this movie, they probably have to be a fan of Tony Scott in the first place. It has dynamic directing, sharp and lively cinematography, fast editing, blending of colors, and many other directorial tricks that the fans will enjoy, and basically it doesn't matter what the plot is about.

The cleverly written dialogues are brilliantly delivered by both Ethan Hawke and his partner Julie Delpy. The film avoids sentimentality and romantic clichés, it captivated me with its simplicity and naturalness, while remaining interesting every second.

I wish Ridley Scott would make a proper history drama again, that's his strength. He should live conversational movies to someone else.

15 minutes doesn’t work very well. The concept looked very promising, but John Herzfeld ruined it with his hasty and convulsive direction, which had such a negative impact that even if Robert De Niro and Karel Roden were walking on the ceiling, it probably wouldn't have helped. Those amateur camera flourishes started to annoy me to no end after a while.

This film has style, flair and, most importantly, a solid dose of intelligence, and it is this last ingredient that elevates it a notch above other films of its ilk.