Highly Overrated But Still Good

Best movie ever!

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The first massive misfire from Affleck, all this talk of Oscar buzz hindered its chances of being anything other than an incoherent mess. It wasn't even a narrow misfire, he strayed so far away from the target that he obliterated Prohibition gangster films along the way. The son of a superintendent decides to walk the life of a mobster when he is unable to resist the uncontrollable urge to steal money from a powerful outlaw. His lover is presumed dead, he moves away, some other characters are introduced, Christianity and repenting sins is forced in...oh, and there's the KKK...wait, he wants to build a giant casino? Why is Brendan Gleeson not in this more? Why are all the characters sidelined? Where is the excitement!? Aside from the gripping introductory car chase and final shootout, this is nothing more than pretentious melodrama which should've been titled 'The Ben Affleck Show: Prohibit Prohibition'. I'm fine with Affleck garnering all of the screen time, especially given his previous directing efforts 'The Town' and 'Argo'. But not when he is this boring! He looks like he couldn't even be bothered as he awkwardly smiles all the way through hunched over like a human wall. When you have rising talents like Miller, Fanning and Saldana, don't waste them. They all gave captivating performances yet each had five minutes to showcase their acting range. None of the supporting characters were developed and were there as a means to accompany Affleck on his quest for money and redemption. I felt no emotional attachment towards any of them. The story was utterly tedious as it's paced slower than a 1920's automobile. For an overstuffed plot, I'm surprised that nothing really happens. I will say that the Prohibition-era production design was authentic and the accompanying visual style was glamorously glossy. Just unfortunate that every other element was glossed over. Long, dull and boring. I've nearly forgotten about this already. I can only hope Affleck comes back from this, which I'm sure has hit him hard...

Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) returns from the Great War and leads a robbery crew in Boston. His girlfriend Emma Gould is the inside man who is also the mistress to Irish gangster Albert White. A gang war between White and Italian mob boss Maso Pescatore blows up. He gets set up by White, beaten, and imprisoned. After his release, Pescatore recruits him to chase after White who has escaped to set up an operation in Tampa, Florida. With his best friend Dion Bartolo by his side, he builds a rum operation in Tampa. He befriends Sheriff Irving Figgis (Chris Cooper) and his daughter Loretta (Elle Fanning) who is heading to Hollywood. He marries local Graciela Corrales (Zoe Saldana). He battles the KKK and then tries to build a casino.This story seems to be too big for Affleck's writing skills. He's proved his directing skills but this is a long meandering criminal life. He's trying to make Godfather but he doesn't have the vision. It also doesn't help that he plays Joe in a cold and distant manner. He is so cold that none of his relationships are appealing. I don't care about Emma and only slightly more about Graciela. The saving grace is that he doesn't get romantic with Loretta as I feared. That may be why her character is more compelling than almost everybody else. This movie pushes Affleck to his limits and he shows his limitations.

Live by Night - Ben Affleck's 'sorry my Great Grandpa kept slaves' film. So this petty Chicago (I'm not a..)gangster guy gets set up and a very cuddly Don Italiano uses him to get at some Irish gangster guy in Florida. Ben goes uber PC as an Irish guy working for an Italian banging a Cuban/black chick while taking the fight to the KKK - we turned it off. 1/10 - dunno how it ended.

Ben Affleck proves once again that he cannot write, direct, produce and star in a movie. He has failed to create an interesting picture despite the fascinating material he has at hand. First, the novel by Dennis Lehane; second, the territory of gangland Boston and Florida during Prohibition; third and finally, a cast of great actors in the supporting roles from Brendan Gleeson to Elle Fanning, Chris Messina and Chris Cooper. Why isn't this a good movie? It should be, but Affleck once again does not seem to be able to take the helm wearing all those hats and produce a great movie. The stereotypes abound, the women are cardboard cutouts and the Godfather it ain't. I read this movie was originally going to run to three hours, before Warner Bros forced Affleck to cut it. As it is, at a few minutes over 2 hours, I can't imagine sitting through more of this boring, snail-paced and dull gangster film. Don't waste your time on Live By Night: watch the Untouchables, rent the Godfather trilogy or, better yet, go outside and take a long walk instead.