This one looked good, but I wasn't sure what to expect. With Ben Afflec directing, it can be a mixed bag, because I've seen him do total garbage and good stuff as well. This one was a pleasant surprise. The premise of the story is a little unlikely, but the overall delivery and what I think it was trying to say were interesting. Fundamentally, these guys knock over a bank and end up taking a hostage. They let the hostage go but consider her a "loose end" that Afflec's character is supposed to deal with. When he goes to confront her, he sees the trauma that the incident has caused her and sort of has that "I'm going to get out of the business" epiphany.
The acting was quite good, which I don't think is a suprise as it has Jeremy Remmer from Hurt Locker, and he plays a pretty intense character here again. Most of the main characters get fairly well fleshed out as they open up to each other or recount their difficulties in their past. The only thing that wasn't good about some of the characters was the Bostonian accents; in other words, I think you can tell who is from there and who is not
I was also very satisfied with the level of action, since the trailer seems to have it looking like it will be more of a drama and story based, but their is a fair amount of good action in this one. It follows a similar flow to Heat, and that is a good thing IMO. It blends a lot of elements and does a pretty good job of it making for a fun ride.
PQ is very good on this one. Even dark shots and far away shots look quite clean, though I typically tend to stop noticing PQ if it is good, because it is more obvous when it is bad, and in this case I stopped noticing.
AQ was simply very good all around. The action sequences were particularly well done, LFE is good and surround use is very immersive.
3.75 out of 5, definitely worth a rent IMO.
