The Counselor

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, John Leguizamo, Rose Perez, Dean Norris, Natalie Dormer, Goran Visnjic
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A counselor (Michael Fassbender) gets in over his head when he gets involved in an illegal drug deal.

Review:

Tim: There's no way The Counselor could be a failure, right? The great Ridley Scott directing. The great Cormac McCarthy writing. An incredible cast, including Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, and Brad Pitt. This movie had mega-smash written all over it. The only problem is that this movie is terrible. This film is truly a head-scratcher. How on earth could this many talented people come together to create such a bad movie? It's almost beyond belief.

One of the many problems with this film is that it's just a slow, meandering story that never really feels like it's going anywhere. The plot is glacial and not really all that interesting. We've seen dozens of movies like this before, and this one did nothing to separate itself. The story is completely forgettable. At 117 minutes, the movie is way too long, especially when we're not exactly enamored with what is happening on screen.

None of the characters are likeable. That is a major problem. Michael Fassbender is the titular Counselor and our protagonist, but I'm not sure why we should care even one iota about him. The film never gives us any reason. He's not a good person, not an interesting person, and there's no reason for us to have any kind of emotional attachment to him. His performance was fine, but it was missing any connection with the audience. Penelope Cruz really doesn't have much to do. I can't think of any real contribution she made to the film. Javier Bardem and Cameron Diaz were certainly doing something, but it just did not work in the context of this film. They seemed to be trying too hard and they just came across as silly. I cringe when I think about both of their characters. It was just bad. Brad Pitt really had no business being in this film, as he adds nothing in a small performance. Honestly, on paper, this cast is excellent, but none of them escapes this film looking good at all. That's really, really disappointing.

I like McCarthy, but I'm not sure what he was trying to do here. The dialogue is just really bad. It's a little too literary and pretentious and does not flow well. For a great writer, he really turned in some substandard work. The film is unnecessarily dense and confusing. Again, this isn't because the audience is stupid, it's because the writing was so lackluster. There are just too many pointless sequences. One of the most controversial scenes involves Cameron Diaz and a car, but this scene is utterly pointless and controversial just to be controversial. I was not impressed.

Sometimes, you can make the best plans, but you have to execute well. Ridley Scott did not give us a very good movie here. In fact, it's a borderline disaster. You assemble this much talent and generate a bad movie like The Counselor, and you know something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. While the film has a very few good moments, the bulk of the film is just bad. This movie had huge potential, but crashed and burned unlike any movie in recent memory. Everyone involved should feel some level of shame.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Judge, No Country for Old Men, 12 Years a Slave, Shame