First off I'd like to state that this is one of the best thrillers I've seen thus far. It constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat with its ridiculously fast-paced style. Furthermore, the movie shines with its original story and unique execution.
Quick synopsis:
The movie starts out with a psychological evaluation of some sort. A visibly/seemingly "mentally challenged" person is asked a couple of revealing questions. The whole setting of the scene was very reminiscent of the opening scene in the original Blade Runner movie. And just like in the Blade Runner movie the session gets interrupted. This time, however, by non-violent means. We later find out that the mentally challenged person from the first scene is the brother of the protagonist. Together the Nikas-brothers are a criminal duo of sorts. Connie Nikas, the older brother, definitely has a somewhat shady past as we later find out, when we get to see his handler. Right at the beginning of the movie the two brothers decide to take it to the next level with their next exploit. We as the viewers are there to witness the protagonists transition from small-time criminals to big-time criminals. Well, let's just say that things go horribly wrong and just like that everything changes. The protagonist finds himself in an impossible situation and goes to extreme lengths to right his wrongs.
At the end of the day it's a really moving story with believable characters. The protagonist, Connie Nikas, is quite complex. He's a petty criminal who also seems to have his heart in the right place. The relationship with his brother is equally as complex; on a fundamental level he really cares about him. But he doesn't seem to think that involving him in his criminal activities is wrong. Well, that's until things go FUBAR. It is at that point that the protagonist finds himself in a neverending downward spiral as he embarks on his quest for redemption. The movie gets extremely emotional towards the end, with the totally messed up family dynamics. It's a really powerful ending. And the movie does come full circle as Nick Nikas finds himself in yet another session with his psychologist.
Acting-wise I have to say that Robert Pattinson delivered his best performance yet. It was extremely satisfying to see how well he performed his role. Truly mesmerizing.
The film score consists of very energetic synthwave music and perfectly compliments the movie and its pacing. Unlike in most movies these days, where the film score just silently plays along, this movie's film score is prominently displayed to the point where it becomes an entity of its own. It's loud and it's "in your face". Very unapologetically. I love it. As expected, the pacing is extremely fast.
What the movie does really well is humanizing the characters. All of the characters in this movie have flaws. Some are more obvious than others but no one is perfect. And that is very important. It adds an extra layer of realism to the story. Especially since most of the protagonists are criminals. Take e.g. Connie Nikas; although he made the lives of those that he encountered "much worse" you couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Because you knew that he was trying to be the good guy. Even though he failed, his intentions were "mostly" benign.
Furthermore, I'd like to stress how comical the movie is, despite its serious subject matter (which is criminal intent in all its diversity). There are some scenes that were so bizarre that they became extremely hilarious. Like the whole thing with the LSD bottle and the guard. It's still one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen. Whoever wrote that script must have a very peculiar mind (in the most positive way of course).
Final verdict: totally recommended. If you want to have a "good time" watch this movie (pun intended).
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