State of Play

A solid political thriller with great actors, good direction, but a problematic script that results in several characters and scenes feeling empty, and a resolution that is too concise, to the point that after one viewing I’m not entirely sure that everything fits properly. That wouldn’t be a problem in a sci-fi mystery movie, but in a political thriller, which should rely primarily on the plot turning flawlessly and the effect of the final twist, this is a pretty serious shortcoming. 6+/10 (05/28/2009)

Who was the good guy and who was the bad guy? Who made a mistake and who didn’t? Politics is a dirty game and journalism is too, mostly, and when good people get involved with either of them, it changes them, usually in the worst possible way. That’s more or less what this outstandingly acted detective drama is all about. Crowe gives a standard performance and Ben Affleck is getting better and better. The only thing I don’t understand is the Czech title of the movie. This movie certainly isn’t destined for slaughter. (08/23/2009)

A professionally shot thriller, in which Russell Crowe stands out as usual in the role of a journalist, who is passionate about the truth and a good story and is willing to risk even his life for it. Unfortunately, words of praise cannot be said about his partner Ben Affleck. His average acting might have been hidden in a different film and under different circumstances, perhaps behind the production, special effects, or pace, but compared to Crowe, the difference in quality is painfully evident in some places. The fourth star has escaped the film for other reasons - mainly due to shortcomings in the script. The producer wanted to follow the usual formula and attract viewers with a dramatic twist, after which the perspective on the characters of the story changes, but the screenwriter did not avoid logical errors and inconsistencies - see the final encounter between Crowe and the assassin. The expected victory of good and a free press over human filth and intrigue somehow fits into the idea of American studio production, but my sympathies usually go to films that attempt to break or at least avoid established clichés. Overall impression: 65%. (02/26/2013)

Politics is a dirty game. Journalists are buggers. Classic journalism is almost a thing of the past. Tony Gilroy is a good writer. Kevin Macdonald has a nose for interesting, current material. Russell Crowe has charisma even with his dad-bod belly. Helen Mirren can take over even when given a minimum of space. Jeff Daniels has his best years behind him. Rachel McAdams is completely uninteresting. Simply old, familiar truths that are also completely true here. The only truth that doesn't apply here is the one about remakes being redundant, because this one is anything but redundant or bad. It does not tarnish the good name of the British original, rather the opposite. (05/29/2009)

Very nice directing and good actors, but the script hardly traverses the three levels of the story: thriller, political-journalistic moralizing and personal drama. The introduction is excellent, full of the unique and very rhythmic direction by Macdonald, but then everything somehow shatters, shreds, evaporates... the legible transnational conspiracy tries to compare with the more serious mental matrix, but it is tedious and quite protracted. The final twists may come as a surprise, but they do not fix the shoddy impression from the previous storytelling. In the end, State of Play is neither an original thriller nor a film that would appeal to us with any message. It has a little bit of both and not enough of either. Nevertheless, mainly thanks to the directing and the actors, it holds up more than honorably. [70%] (05/18/2009)