THE COUNSELOR (C-)

Bottom Line: Firing up a heap of moody style in lieu of actual substance, director Ridley Scott takes us on an electrifyingly dull and grisly scattershot, dangers-of-working-with-the-drug-cartel journey that ultimately goes up in smoke.  There’s a lot of character ground to cover as you’re catapulted across multiple plotlines - in place, I can only assume, to ensure you never have too much time to reflect and ask ‘What the hell is going on?!’  Pitt and Bardem are stylistically memorable, Fassbender stoically churns out his lines like he’s auditioning for a prequel to Dirty Harry (Go ahead…make my day), Cruz is not ugly but still forgettable (not her fault) and Diaz awkwardly vamps it up so hard she looks (and acts) like a young girl who just raided her momma’s makeup drawer…  The bigger problem is that you’ll probably find yourself not caring one bit about any of these characters and their predicaments.  Big time director, immensely popular writer and a boat load of A-list stars only amounts to a modicum of intrigue here – THE COUNSELOR is a flashy, disjointed shoulder shrug of a movie that’s best kept to a possible rental – because you’d have to be high to go to the theaters and pay full price.

 

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem

Directed by: Ridley Scott (PROMETHEOUS, ROBIN HOOD, ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER and BLACK HAWK DOWN)

Written by: Carmac McCarthy (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE ROAD and ALL THE PRETTY HORSES)

Rated: R

Running time: 112 minutes

Story: A respected lawyer's one-time dalliance with an illegal business deal spirals out of control. (c) Official Site

Trailer: www.thecounselormovie.com