State of Play --- movie review!
Dir: Kevin Macdonald Stars: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams
Synopsis: Adapted from a BBC miniseries, State of Play is about a team of investigative reporters working alongside a police detective to solve the murder of a congressman's mistress.
This movie was originally supposed to reunite Brad Pitt and Edward Norton for the first time since Fight Club, but the writer’s strike derailed that. However, the cast is strong here, including Ben Affleck, who is still engaged in an ongoing campaign to regain his street cred. Street cred that Jason Bateman has achieved --- Bateman went from washed up 80’s actor to scene stealing dynamo.
The movie has some moments and plot twists that start to lean towards silly, but other than that, it’s a pretty well-written and well-directed film. Assuming the goofier plot twists don’t throw you off, you’re in for an intelligent and suspenseful thriller. All the plot twists don’t leave too much room for character development, but it’s still a fun ride. It reminded me of movies like All the President’s Men and The Paralax View.
It’s a movie that crosses government corruption with a focus on the state of print journalism. Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen the HBO series “The Wire,” it is well worth your time, especially the later seasons and one that also focuses on print journalism.
3 Dorks out of 5 on the Geek-o-Meter. The BBC version is superior, but this version is worth seeing if you like conspiracy films.