I really wanted to like this film as I've I enjoyed Keaton playing both "good guys" and bad guys. (as bad guys, he was great in Pacific Heights and Desperate Measures) He always manages to deliver a distinctive nuance to his characters which adds to any movie he's in.
This is a real Michael Keaton production! He stars, produces and directs!
Here, however, I blame the script in failing to deliver.
I will deal strictly with the plot as it is offered on the masthead of the IMDB page and not spoil anything beyond that.
The story as it is told in the trailer, is that he's losing his mind to dementia from a rare disease which has also been called, "mad cow disease" which is then spread to humans. (I knew someone who was diagnosed with it - 1 of THREE in the entire state of Pennsylvania in one year)
The portrayal of how this illness attacks someone's mental functions was off the medical mark, but this is a movie, not a medical journal, so I had no problem with them playing around with the facts - IF IT WAS CONVINCING.
That was one of three problems which I can cite. I was not moved by his decline into dementia. The very first shot of the movie is an attempt to represent the early symptoms, however, I thought the story should have dwelled longer on the many small mental gaps that people can otherwise relate to. Simply, in real life, it's other people who first notice the changes and we don't see that.
The second problem was the lack of action. I would have liked at least one more scene, early on, which would have shown him in action and then show him making little mistakes during the "job" and more action in the middle, expanding the one scene with James Marsden.
The last nit I'd like to pick was the ending, where two things happen. I would have liked to have seen them shown in reverse order to be a little more uplifting.
There were many missed opportunities such the complex story of a young woman reaching maturity and her family. I was disappointed by the dialogue. I expected more from a Michael Keaton movie! And while I like James Marsden, I felt he was a bit out of his depth. Perhaps stick to lighter movies which he does very well in.
I didn't feel my intelligence was insulted as so many movies do today. It wasn't a BAD movie but I can't truly recommend it.
This is a real Michael Keaton production! He stars, produces and directs!
Here, however, I blame the script in failing to deliver.
I will deal strictly with the plot as it is offered on the masthead of the IMDB page and not spoil anything beyond that.
The story as it is told in the trailer, is that he's losing his mind to dementia from a rare disease which has also been called, "mad cow disease" which is then spread to humans. (I knew someone who was diagnosed with it - 1 of THREE in the entire state of Pennsylvania in one year)
The portrayal of how this illness attacks someone's mental functions was off the medical mark, but this is a movie, not a medical journal, so I had no problem with them playing around with the facts - IF IT WAS CONVINCING.
That was one of three problems which I can cite. I was not moved by his decline into dementia. The very first shot of the movie is an attempt to represent the early symptoms, however, I thought the story should have dwelled longer on the many small mental gaps that people can otherwise relate to. Simply, in real life, it's other people who first notice the changes and we don't see that.
The second problem was the lack of action. I would have liked at least one more scene, early on, which would have shown him in action and then show him making little mistakes during the "job" and more action in the middle, expanding the one scene with James Marsden.
The last nit I'd like to pick was the ending, where two things happen. I would have liked to have seen them shown in reverse order to be a little more uplifting.
There were many missed opportunities such the complex story of a young woman reaching maturity and her family. I was disappointed by the dialogue. I expected more from a Michael Keaton movie! And while I like James Marsden, I felt he was a bit out of his depth. Perhaps stick to lighter movies which he does very well in.
I didn't feel my intelligence was insulted as so many movies do today. It wasn't a BAD movie but I can't truly recommend it.