The best thing about this film was the great cast: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. These are excellent actors and they show that off once again. The story is a strong point also. Politics always create an opportunity for a great story, because of the deception, emotion, and personality invovled.
With a great cast and a good story, you'd think this would make an awesome movie. Something didn't quite add up this time though. The beginning of the movie seemed very ordinary to me. It consisted of scene after scene of regular campaign work. We were getting to know the characters, but most of the character traits were hinted at through a couple comments rather than fully developed. This created a feeling of slow pace and lack of connection with the characters. Things improved somewhat when the political twists shook things up, but even these were portrayed through a sequence of simple scenes. A little more ups and downs in the plot or a clear climax would have added a lot to this movie.
Overall, I enjoyed this film because it was a good story and some great actors. However, my high expectations were not met. The plot was a little slow paced and lacked some solid character development. It was a good movie but didn't have to fighting power that is expected with so many big name actors.
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