Run This Town (2019) User Reviews

How did they mess this movie up so bad?

[natcalgary · 4/10 · 18 March 2020]

I mean the actual story was amazing. everyone was watching the news every day to see what would happen next in the farce. this should have been an easy homerun, but somehow they made the whole thing boring.

3.9

An oddly-told, disjointed, and annoying story...

[how-cool · 3/10 · 8 August 2020]

...and very little to do with Rob Ford's tumultuous term as mayor of Toronto, which is the headline-grabbing event the writer clumsily used as a framework upon which to hang his story of millennial journalist angst.

I want the 1:39 Back!!!

[Picc818 · 3/10 · 16 September 2020]

I try not to see the IMDB ratings before watching a movie so that I remain totally impartial. Movies are always a matter of one's taste. This is one movie where I wish I had checked the rating. Although a simple plot line, there was absolutely no plot twists or anything for that matter. I just kept waiting for the "wow" moment. I'm still waiting. And whoever was tasked with the makeup for the Rob Ford character should never work in the business again.

Dull and disappointing

[Jack_Brock · 2/10 · 8 August 2020]

I watched this movie expecting a Rob Ford biopic. It focuses on two people -Bram a writer for a Toronto newspaper and Kamal, one of Ford's aides.

The story seems all over the place, telling the story of these two low level workers and how one is trying to bring down the Mayor while the other protects him. The story of the two of them really doesn't go anywhere and the movie drags on without coming to a point.

The movie finally ends and leaves you with a feeling that you wasted your time.

Amateurishly Inept

[mja-78224 · 6 March 2020]

It is truly breath-taking an amateurish this movie is. With the many, and pointless, use of split screens, the director seems to be seeking a postgraduate degree from film school. The script seems unable to figure out what story it is trying to tell (and tells it poorly). Ultimately it is a pity party for millennials, without giving the audience any reason to join in.

So disappointing

[datadata-69167 · 2/10 · 3 August 2019]

Saw this at the Traverse City Film Festival. Was really excited as it had Damian Lewis and was described as, "... comes this whip-smart, rapid-fire, political sizzler that delivers all the AARON SORKIN vibes you want." Yes, they actually used his name. And they delivered none of that. The biggest problem with this movie was the story. Plain and simple. It bored me to tears. The music & cinematography were good as was Nina Dobrev, but everything else was tough to sit through. I'm guessing the only reason this movie got into the festival was because director Ricky Tollman agreed to speak afterwords. We were told he left early lol. He knew it was bad, that's why he was a no-show. I wouldn't have thought about writing a review until I overheard at least 9 other people complaining about the movie.

Dull dull dull

[rmgniagara-447-236071 · 1/10 · 7 March 2020]

I am very aware of this story that takes place in Toronto. This rambles all over the place. There are some well known names and faces. They must have needed the money or a free plane ticket to Toronto and sightseeing. Damian Lewis as Rob Ford. Why?

It was Not worth the time to watch this movie

[bhernandez919 · 1/10 · 10 September 2020]

I felt like I wasted an hour and 40 minutes of my time. It was a Really slow movie and I kept waiting for it to get better. The actors are normally very talented but they not used to their potential.

16 minutes in and I have no idea...

[MongoLloyd · 1/10 · 13 March 2020]

... what's going on. Worse. I don't care. What the heck happened to the craft of filmmaking?

Genuinely Baffled

[andrew-turts · 7/10 · 27 November 2020]

I once reviewed a McDonald's in 2006 on Yelp purely for the novelty and newness of it. I haven't bothered to review anything on the internet since because the idea my opinion has value feels ridiculous, and generally the voice of the masses hits the mark. Until this movie.

Throughout the pandemic I've been working through my "Movies to Watch" list, usually indies with snappy trailers, or a premise I'd never seen before (this movie being one of the former). It's been a train of disappointment, because two minutes of good editing or a gonzo idea do not a good movie make. Based on the reviews I was bracing myself for yet another story to run in the background while I check it off my list, yet here I was, actually entertained. The cinematography is pretty damn good, along with the score, and decent enough acting. The pacing is a bit wonky, the dialogue strained, and Damian Lewis' fat suit is distractingly bad, but from a writer/director still getting their footing early in their career, it's not a bad effort. Hell, there's stuff out there from far more senior filmmakers that don't meet the bar of "Run This Town."

This movie is perfectly...fine. Great? No. Good even? Sure, maybe, why not? But these 1 and 2 star reviews make "Run This Town" seem unwatchable. I gave more attention to this movie than most of the dull fare that felt like a chore to get them out of my queue. In fact, here's a quick list (before I got bored with writing it) of movies far slower and less engaging than "Run This Town" that are better rated on IMDb:

The Lodge, Little Joe, It Comes at Night, Vivarium, Upstream Color, Mandy, Color Out of Space, The Brand New Testament, The Vast of Night, Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss, Snowflake, Footnotes, The Fitzroy, Ad Astra, etc.

Similarly, I've gotten bored with writing this review and have realized I'm probably in the wrong if this many people dislike it this much. Give it a chance at least if it seemed interesting and the review scores drove you off though.

Embarrassing

[GeorgeWHAMMYBush · 1/10 · 11 February 2020]

I made it through the whole thing. That's my best one line review for this horrible train wreck.

I get what they're hoping to achieve. They want to make it some sleuths uncovering a huge scandal but they can't dress up the garbage enough and I wasn't the only one rolling their eyes at the screening I attended.

"What world is this in?" was what I heard two rows in front of me. Followed by everyone chuckling.

Damian Lewis looks more like Mike Myers as Fat Bastard than Rob Ford and the drug dealers they had in this looking like morality heroes was quite funny. I guess being from Toronto and lived through this is funny to see how desperate the filmmaker was to alter the story. Yes he smoked crack. The people who sold the video smoked it with him and sold it to him. They came to this country and hurt it as much as possible. Yet in this movie they're portrayed as good guys.

It's sad to see something like this. Rob Ford said no to unions and even after his death they're still out for blood. Thankfully this mess is the best they can come up with.

Everyone involved should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

Sorkin-esque film with a hint of Fincher

[andrewbronfman · 10/10 · 17 March 2020]

Really gotta pay attention as it is dialogue heavy but it is very well done.

Well-paced original story about millennials struggling to get their lives started in Toronto

[rubberto · 7/10 · 5 March 2020]

Well I really enjoyed it. It was much different than expected. I expected the Rob Ford story. Instead this was an insightful story about the reality of fresh out-of-school millennials trying to get their lives and careers started in Toronto set amidst the backdrop of the Rob Ford controversy. It gave a glimpse of millennial angst in a way that felt very real. It was well-paced with quick, smart dialogue and a good mix of humor and kept my attention throughout. I could see where it could be polished up here and there. There were a few scenes and characters that could have benefited from a bit more introduction/development, but overall it worked really well. I give a lot of credit to indie films that risk taking an original approach and I am interested to see what this new director does next.

Where is Robyn Doolittle?

[katie-docherty-802-190866 · 1/10 · 13 August 2020]

I am confused... where is Robyn Doolittle?

What?

I don't understand it

[Gordon-11 · 9 March 2020]

I tried really hard to understand this story, but I don't understand it. The film begins with some really wordy discussions or debate, which I already lost me. The mayor is portrayed to be horrible, but the people on the opposite camp is not that nice either. The story is just not very engagingly portrayed.

Disastrous waste

[amirpirouz · 1/10 · 24 August 2020]

I wish I could've asked for my time back! Definitely, one of the worst movies ever.

Irrelevant pessimism masquerading as a historical biopic.

[drenstere · 2/10 · 16 August 2021]

If, somehow, you wanted to take the story of Rob Ford, distill it through about twenty different filters, tell it partially and poorly through the eyes of a hapless protagonist, have this character get completely pummeled by his opposite number and then make it appear as though a Kubrick-esque death occurred before the editing process could be completed, you would almost be able to get the picture of a mediocre film of maybe 4.5 stars or so.

This film falls way short of even that bar. It's a pessimistic (and certainly stereotypical) essay of millennials set against a historical backdrop that ends up doing no angle justice. Maybe there is a better cut of this from the massive amounts of footage available or maybe it's just this incomplete. In retrospect it almost feels like a film-school assignment of 'fix this and make it work' that the fictitious student would then have to tackle. My problem is I've seen quite a few film school projects and group-edits and this film falls short of even those attempts.

Painfully boring

[sebasrmorua · 4/10 · 25 October 2021]

It has a strong start but becomes incredibly dull fast, and the movie can't seem to decide whether Bram or Kamal is the protagonist. The only reason I saw this movie I was because Ben Platt is on it.