I went in veeeeery skeptical, having read some real snipes towards the movie. But I wanted to give it fair judgement. After all, in today's time, we have a tendency to revel in negatives more than positives. Controversy gets people talking. Right? That & if there's no CGI or Tony Stark, it's not a good movie to the average person.
The movie certainly had its own feel & spin, just like an indie film should. With some nice little moments from Mel Gibson as Agent Petrovik, & Vince McDaniels as Sgt Graham. An unsolved case is always going to be difficult to work with. The team did well in building awareness & lay a foundation via a ''documentary'' tone to some of it. Intentional? Or a somewhat accidental blessing? Regardless, it felt as though there was more of a realism to it as a result.
I found Brian Van Holt (Detective Orgeta) to come across as a legitimate cop. However, maybe not the man to carry the bulk of the story. You need a certain quality to pull off such a part. A human connection from an audience perspective. Maybe a little backstory. Something that has us hook onto him more. Just like we did with Gibson's storyline. Seeing Gibson torment himself more would have been a nice touch. But I kind of like how they didn't go to him as the obvious to take up all of the camera time.
I read a couple of reviews about pacing. I think we need to remember that this was a very repetitive crime. With lots of repetitive instances. Changing the pace wouldn't have necessarily won more votes.50 Cent, aka Chief Carter. Very reserved. Possibly ''wooden'' to some. Has he ever been a solid actor? No. The reality, he's portraying a police Chief, leading a Dept. Responsible for investigating a potential serial killer case. To hold back emotions and deem stiff is (in my opinion) a nice touch. He's treading carefully. With an uncertainty of it being a possible 'inside job' or not, I like how he was harder to read.
Asif Akbar. The director & captain of the ship. Asif has come a long way in a short period of time. Working with known & unknown names is certainly nothing new. I would say to him, ''Don't hold back. Actors are your tools. Push them. It's easier to reel a performance back in than it is to push more out of them.'' Once he grabs the bull by the horns, we're going to see a new found level. With an impressive resume, & the likes of Gibson under his direction, the harsh reviews on this one, his next project will highly likely have him cross into that territory where he steps more out of his comfort zone.
Overall, worth a watch. Some nice shots & editing. A very bold case to build around within a movie. And a great stepping stone from a filmmaking perspective for a lot of those involved.
