I had the misfortune of seeing this film. I had thought it was going to be good, perhaps giving some insight into a political scandal I hadn't followed too closely. It didn't.
The first half of the movie was mired in the land of bad exposition. Characters would come on screen and say "remember how we were back in college when..." or "Hey, it's so and so, a reporter for the Washington Post!" This went on and on. Meanwhile, all of the scenes blast along without any sort of emotional appeal, no characters to connect with, not a single person on screen to care about.
Spacey is a great guy to watch, but here he's ham-stringed by the combination of bad script and worse direction. Even in scenes where his character is having political turmoil at the end of the film (as the real Abramoff is in jail, this should be no surprise) Spacey doesn't even sweat. Literally. He's calm and cool but doesn't seem to care about his character's dilemma.
Overall this movie is glib. Some movies can pull off the pacing that this movie attempts and it comes off as charming, quirky or perhaps even a little sinister. Casino Jack doesn't. It's got a story to tell and it's going for the lowest common denominator in showing it to you. You won't get any subtle clues, no emotional telegraphing, no clever reveals. Just a scandalous story involving unlikeable portrayals, described with no style and with no real energy.
The first half of the movie was mired in the land of bad exposition. Characters would come on screen and say "remember how we were back in college when..." or "Hey, it's so and so, a reporter for the Washington Post!" This went on and on. Meanwhile, all of the scenes blast along without any sort of emotional appeal, no characters to connect with, not a single person on screen to care about.
Spacey is a great guy to watch, but here he's ham-stringed by the combination of bad script and worse direction. Even in scenes where his character is having political turmoil at the end of the film (as the real Abramoff is in jail, this should be no surprise) Spacey doesn't even sweat. Literally. He's calm and cool but doesn't seem to care about his character's dilemma.
Overall this movie is glib. Some movies can pull off the pacing that this movie attempts and it comes off as charming, quirky or perhaps even a little sinister. Casino Jack doesn't. It's got a story to tell and it's going for the lowest common denominator in showing it to you. You won't get any subtle clues, no emotional telegraphing, no clever reveals. Just a scandalous story involving unlikeable portrayals, described with no style and with no real energy.