I’ve long been a fan of Jon Favreau movies (Swingers, Iron Man and to a lesser extent Made and Iron Man 2), and so was looking forward to this one. The “blonde Bond” – Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde (13 from House, and the only female character in Tron 2) are starring, with Sam Rockwell (Moon, Charlie’s Angels, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) in a supporting role.
Unfortunately, it’s let down by an over-developed screenplay that moves from one action set-piece to the next with precious little in the way of character development. It’s hard to care about any of the characters, and there’s no attempt made at all to provide the aliens with any redeeming features.
Part of the problem is the memory-loss plot device, which removes a lot of the empathy for the main character until (perhaps) the final reel.
The visuals are brilliant: the combination of sci-fi special effects with a great-looking Western set is handled solidly, and there are a few Harrison Ford moments that remind you why he’s such a great screen presence, but this isn’t enough to redeem a film that had a really promising trailer.