One spy spots another spy on a Caribbean beach and, through a series of further coincidences, they take on a bunch of corrupt business types.
I realised at the end this was a sequel to another contrived spy outing for the hero - not so memorable. Big problems with the story, relying so much on coincidence, and the central plot point is hardly earth shattering. Wordy script with its emphasis on the nasty security state that we've slipped into over the past ten years, and yet it lacks a killer speech to reveal the essence of this cruel and treacherous world, and shows no violence at all to convince us of the threat posed.
The intro scene looks completely amateur, as if they weren't sure where to start, and the camera direction ain't great, with so many close ups botched as the characters light endless cigarettes. There was one theatrical scene with unnatural dialogue, and the ickyness of the beach scene at the end revealed the simplistic approach to a terribly complex intersection between the power of the state and the power of money. So I'm not a fan of this writer/director.
I do like the actors, but ... Nighy seems to flip between assured calm and self-consciousness. Walken has his old man pants on, and Carter was a bit at sea with her reaction in the shake down scene. Ryder is very good in close up - big eyes and facial ticks that suggest a deep pit of pain.
The music was OK, nothing special - and what was with that song over the end credits?
Overall - underpowered story that doesn't even look interesting.
I realised at the end this was a sequel to another contrived spy outing for the hero - not so memorable. Big problems with the story, relying so much on coincidence, and the central plot point is hardly earth shattering. Wordy script with its emphasis on the nasty security state that we've slipped into over the past ten years, and yet it lacks a killer speech to reveal the essence of this cruel and treacherous world, and shows no violence at all to convince us of the threat posed.
The intro scene looks completely amateur, as if they weren't sure where to start, and the camera direction ain't great, with so many close ups botched as the characters light endless cigarettes. There was one theatrical scene with unnatural dialogue, and the ickyness of the beach scene at the end revealed the simplistic approach to a terribly complex intersection between the power of the state and the power of money. So I'm not a fan of this writer/director.
I do like the actors, but ... Nighy seems to flip between assured calm and self-consciousness. Walken has his old man pants on, and Carter was a bit at sea with her reaction in the shake down scene. Ryder is very good in close up - big eyes and facial ticks that suggest a deep pit of pain.
The music was OK, nothing special - and what was with that song over the end credits?
Overall - underpowered story that doesn't even look interesting.