What I liked about this movie: Eastwood and all his surrounding characters are all 'real'(istic). There's no showy "Pick up the gun...", Garciella is a woman stuck in a bad situation and Eastwood's entire life history isn't picked apart for the benefit of one final kill.
Eastwood plays his character very well; a guy recently out of a heart transplant and very much in his later years, who you can feel for and really don't want him to push it too much. He probably didn't find this part too taxing, frankly, but excellent actors don't need to push their limits to make us believe them.
The plots links work reasonably well - the clues in the crime don't appear to lead anywhere helpful and there's no real major revelations. Again, it comes across as believable.
Parts where it approaches unbelievable are kept well-balanced; the follow-up from the 'intimate scene' is good because too many films have done it the other way (you'll see what I mean).
It's a good story, well told, for (as one reviewer said here) the adult audience, and well directed.
What I didn't like: The 'intimate scene' between Eastwood and the woman (won't tell you who). A little cringe-worthy and just beyond believable because you're pretty much expecting it - every hollywood movie has it. But they kept it to a minimum.
I (being a pessimistic movie-goer) was expecting the killer to be who he/she/it/they was from around half-way. Before that and anyone who says they know who did it is purely speculating, there is nothing approaching concrete to substantiate it. Though it was kind of good to realise it early.
I think they could have traded the Russian character (being somewhat superfluous, IMHO) with some time showing that it should be harder for an ex-agent to get at sensitive files, but I understand the decision because it may have got simply tiring.
All in all, a good movie if you want a bit of Eastwood and tension and maybe you're feeling old today.
Eastwood plays his character very well; a guy recently out of a heart transplant and very much in his later years, who you can feel for and really don't want him to push it too much. He probably didn't find this part too taxing, frankly, but excellent actors don't need to push their limits to make us believe them.
The plots links work reasonably well - the clues in the crime don't appear to lead anywhere helpful and there's no real major revelations. Again, it comes across as believable.
Parts where it approaches unbelievable are kept well-balanced; the follow-up from the 'intimate scene' is good because too many films have done it the other way (you'll see what I mean).
It's a good story, well told, for (as one reviewer said here) the adult audience, and well directed.
What I didn't like: The 'intimate scene' between Eastwood and the woman (won't tell you who). A little cringe-worthy and just beyond believable because you're pretty much expecting it - every hollywood movie has it. But they kept it to a minimum.
I (being a pessimistic movie-goer) was expecting the killer to be who he/she/it/they was from around half-way. Before that and anyone who says they know who did it is purely speculating, there is nothing approaching concrete to substantiate it. Though it was kind of good to realise it early.
I think they could have traded the Russian character (being somewhat superfluous, IMHO) with some time showing that it should be harder for an ex-agent to get at sensitive files, but I understand the decision because it may have got simply tiring.
All in all, a good movie if you want a bit of Eastwood and tension and maybe you're feeling old today.
