The writing was a little bland with its flat, formulaic-style story-telling, and the pacing too slow, that the normally decent 99 min runtime felt much longer. Directing was ok, but I expected more from Tom Shadyac. I guess a long hiatus does flaw some of the skills. The soundtrack wasn't anything special, and the score felt out of place and cheap in some scenes.
Kinnear, Liburd and Roquemore's performances were the only stand-outs imo, the rest of the cast was adequate, but I wasn't too impressed with Hodge's performance, unless of course his bland demeanor was portraying the real Brian Banks. During the ending credits, I will say how uncanny the resemblance was between most of the actors and the people they were portraying.
Nevertheless, it was a great biopic on a serious issue with some tear-jerking moments in the end. It certainly isn't a 9 or 10/10, so ignore those fake reviews the producers felt they needed. It is a solid 7-8/10 film, but gets only my 7 for annoying me with the obviously phony reviews. Would I see it again? Nope. Would I recommend it? Of course.
Kinnear, Liburd and Roquemore's performances were the only stand-outs imo, the rest of the cast was adequate, but I wasn't too impressed with Hodge's performance, unless of course his bland demeanor was portraying the real Brian Banks. During the ending credits, I will say how uncanny the resemblance was between most of the actors and the people they were portraying.
Nevertheless, it was a great biopic on a serious issue with some tear-jerking moments in the end. It certainly isn't a 9 or 10/10, so ignore those fake reviews the producers felt they needed. It is a solid 7-8/10 film, but gets only my 7 for annoying me with the obviously phony reviews. Would I see it again? Nope. Would I recommend it? Of course.