Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
John Cusack plays a corporate mercenary sent to the Middle East to assassinate while pretending to supervise a pop star's wedding.
Liked
The political satire, most of the cast.
Disliked
The implausible, familiar story.
Hated
Sir Ben Kingsley's casting.
Thoughts
An ambitious, smart, albeit flawed film.
This was rife with American political satire. I laughed out loud quite a lot as it pokes fun at the future of privatized armies, such as the inspired scenes of sponsor billboards on tanks. Some jokes were sharp (reporters "embedded" in virtual reality), others were just plain absurd (a character named Omar Sharif). Another great moment was a fist-fight in a garbage truck. The songs sung by the pop star were quite funny.
John Cusack was fantastic as expected with his effortless natural acting, though it was a little hard to believe him as a skilled assassin. Fellow Grosse Pointe Blank alums Joan Cusack and Dan Aykroyd return with very funny moments. Ageless Marisa Tomei was fun and sexy as the cynical, non-Koolaid drinking journalist.
The most unexpected casting was Hilary Duff as the Middle Eastern pop star. I totally applaud her courage in taking such an interesting, risque role. For the most part, she did well pulling off such a challenging character, however her accent could have used some work. Why was an American playing a Middle Eastern girl? There was a good reason for it.
Unfortunately, there were some numerous flaws. While Duff's questionable casting worked, Sir Ben Kingsley's equally questionable casting struck out. His Southern accent was shockingly atrocious. While there were some whip-smart writing, the story at times floundered in meandering subplots, an unnecessary explosion-driven army battle, and implausible plot points. Also, I was rather disappointed when I realized it was very similar to Grosse Pointe Blank. Another issue might be the high chance of this film becoming outdated, such as a book titled: "How I Conquered the World, And Made My Dad Proud".
Clearly this was a labor of love for Cusack. As a huge fan of his, the imperfections did not prevent me from savoring the pointed satire and humor about a mad future driven by corporations instead of nations. I think there was enough smart material to outweigh the flaws.
What I would change
Removed the army fight scene.
