The review in Slate hits the movie's weak points, but hits
them too hard. IMO, the first three fourths of the film are
terrific, with Eastwood at his best as an actor. It's only in
the last fourth, when the script takes a dogleg away from the
structure of Connelly's book, that problems set in. Eastwood,
for budget reasons probably, decided to keep the finale in
L.A., instead of moving it to a less populated area where the
hero has no access to law enforcement. That makes the movie
hero's actions seem a bit, ah, impulsive. It's a mistake and
a big one, but, hey, three-fourths of a good movie trump most
of the lousy stuff that's around. And mystery lovers should
go see it for one other reason. The entertainment media have
decided to make a big story out of comparing it to XXX. It's
stodgy old man Clint versus big, bold Vin Diesel. I'm happy
to have cast my vote for the fogy.
Dick Lochte
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