I've rarely hated a main character as much. But I kept watching. A movie that doesn't know what it wants to be, and so remains unsatisfactory on a literary level, and on a populist level.
Strangely muted performances from every actor - no one is bad, but no one is good either. Motivations are completely unrealised for Mirren's character, and a bit too cartoonish for Ford's. Phoenix simply isn't given anything to do.
The script avoids important basics - where is all the money coming from? Why do natives speak English? Why do the natives work for Ford? Why is there no reflection on the deaths (murders) of the three mercenaries? The film is decidedly broken, but I watched the whole thing and found myself thinking about it later. And so a score right down the middle - 5/10.
Strangely muted performances from every actor - no one is bad, but no one is good either. Motivations are completely unrealised for Mirren's character, and a bit too cartoonish for Ford's. Phoenix simply isn't given anything to do.
The script avoids important basics - where is all the money coming from? Why do natives speak English? Why do the natives work for Ford? Why is there no reflection on the deaths (murders) of the three mercenaries? The film is decidedly broken, but I watched the whole thing and found myself thinking about it later. And so a score right down the middle - 5/10.