The general idea/story is interesting, if well known - a young ambitious man caught in more than he can handle and some very rich old men and young beautiful women pulling his strings. The plot is not great, but OK, involving a touch of modern litigation and pharmaceutical "mythology". Having Pacino and Hopkins in the same movie is also interesting. The "retro-feel" of a 80s/90s thriller is a nice touch.
Unfortunately, that is about as much as good you can say about it.
Every actor seems "off base" here. Not the same "off base", mind you, but, off base indeed. Anthony Hopkins is not interesting. Al Pacino is pretty flat. The rest have issues, but, these are not as deep, as they are not as well established actors. Oh, lest not forget, Pacino and Hopkins pretty much don't interact - actually one of the best scenes in the movie is when they do interact, the small interaction that it is.
Towards the end, there are serious issues with the story/plot. Significant pieces are missing, there are contradictions and some things just don't make any sense - while coming from highly rational people (there are some crazy people in there, so we're gonna forget about their stuff that don't make sense).
The very end, while playing a well-known twist from the thrillers of the 90s, is also poorly done, and more an "are you kidding" than "wow, I didn't see that coming" experience. It is not just that Alice Eve is not playing her part during the movie the way she should for the twist to "hold water", the whole thing, again, doesn't make much sense.
One is left with a feeling that with just a little more effort on the writer and director's part this could have been a "good enough" movie, rather than a bad one.
Unfortunately, that is about as much as good you can say about it.
Every actor seems "off base" here. Not the same "off base", mind you, but, off base indeed. Anthony Hopkins is not interesting. Al Pacino is pretty flat. The rest have issues, but, these are not as deep, as they are not as well established actors. Oh, lest not forget, Pacino and Hopkins pretty much don't interact - actually one of the best scenes in the movie is when they do interact, the small interaction that it is.
Towards the end, there are serious issues with the story/plot. Significant pieces are missing, there are contradictions and some things just don't make any sense - while coming from highly rational people (there are some crazy people in there, so we're gonna forget about their stuff that don't make sense).
The very end, while playing a well-known twist from the thrillers of the 90s, is also poorly done, and more an "are you kidding" than "wow, I didn't see that coming" experience. It is not just that Alice Eve is not playing her part during the movie the way she should for the twist to "hold water", the whole thing, again, doesn't make much sense.
One is left with a feeling that with just a little more effort on the writer and director's part this could have been a "good enough" movie, rather than a bad one.