I'm at a loss. I've been hearing about this movie since it came out - it's been in my to-see list since then. I finally watched it last weekend.
The opening robbery was just ok. It could have been presented with way more tension. That goes the same for the rest of the movie - bits and pieces here and there were better than average, but they were short and few, and you could see all over the place missed opportunities for greater drama, emotional impact, and excitement. Parts were just plain boring. But then something semi-interesting would come along and (barely) keep me from turning it off.
There are vastly superior drug movies out there - my favorite being Requiem for a Dream. I don't know why this is singled out as such a great film. It certainly was not the first to tackle the subject - Panic in Needle Park, among others that came before it. Do I regret watching it? No. Will I ever watch it again? Absolutely not.
I don't think this is a case of built-up expectations either. It's like I just knew there was something off about all the praise it was getting at the time - maybe that's why it's taken nearly 30 years to get around to watching it. I didn't think it was going to be a masterpiece, but I did think it was going to be much better than it was. Sometimes I think a prominent, popular critic ends up liking something that is actually mediocre and then everyone else just feels like they have to jump on the bandwagon. Otherwise, I just figure this one out.
The opening robbery was just ok. It could have been presented with way more tension. That goes the same for the rest of the movie - bits and pieces here and there were better than average, but they were short and few, and you could see all over the place missed opportunities for greater drama, emotional impact, and excitement. Parts were just plain boring. But then something semi-interesting would come along and (barely) keep me from turning it off.
There are vastly superior drug movies out there - my favorite being Requiem for a Dream. I don't know why this is singled out as such a great film. It certainly was not the first to tackle the subject - Panic in Needle Park, among others that came before it. Do I regret watching it? No. Will I ever watch it again? Absolutely not.
I don't think this is a case of built-up expectations either. It's like I just knew there was something off about all the praise it was getting at the time - maybe that's why it's taken nearly 30 years to get around to watching it. I didn't think it was going to be a masterpiece, but I did think it was going to be much better than it was. Sometimes I think a prominent, popular critic ends up liking something that is actually mediocre and then everyone else just feels like they have to jump on the bandwagon. Otherwise, I just figure this one out.