What a bore! The posters outside the theatre said this was Clooney's best work, but I totally disagree.
What this is, is a sad, but uninteresting story about big business being primarily motivated by profit - no surprise there.
Against this backdrop, we see the story of a aging fringe operator in a formidable legal machine.
I have seen far more compelling versions of this same story - "A Civil Action" springs to mind, as does "Erin Brokovich" (and not just because of the boobs) and even "The Devil's Advocate" for heaven's sake (and again, not just because of the boobs).
Where "Michael Clayton" fails is in the complete absence of drama. I ascribe this to a problem of poor focus and unfortunate choices - the film is unable to decide which story thread to focus on, and lazily tries to tie up this indecision by requiring the viewer to believe that an implausible accident sets in motion an even more implausible sting operation.
Much has been made about Clooney's performance, but the only deserved Oscar buzz was that generated for Tilda Swanson's performance.
If it's a strong Clooney performance you're after, then rather watch "Syriana" again.
What this is, is a sad, but uninteresting story about big business being primarily motivated by profit - no surprise there.
Against this backdrop, we see the story of a aging fringe operator in a formidable legal machine.
I have seen far more compelling versions of this same story - "A Civil Action" springs to mind, as does "Erin Brokovich" (and not just because of the boobs) and even "The Devil's Advocate" for heaven's sake (and again, not just because of the boobs).
Where "Michael Clayton" fails is in the complete absence of drama. I ascribe this to a problem of poor focus and unfortunate choices - the film is unable to decide which story thread to focus on, and lazily tries to tie up this indecision by requiring the viewer to believe that an implausible accident sets in motion an even more implausible sting operation.
Much has been made about Clooney's performance, but the only deserved Oscar buzz was that generated for Tilda Swanson's performance.
If it's a strong Clooney performance you're after, then rather watch "Syriana" again.