A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Brilliant film,ignore the haters...brolin is a legend

Joe (Josh Brolin) is an ad man and not a nice person. He is a womanizer, bully , lousy husband or ex-husband, and a lousy father to his 3 year old daughter. One night Joe wakes up imprisoned in a room. He has a TV and discovers his ex-wife was raped and killed as his DNA is all over the place. Joe was framed, but remains imprisoned by Samuel L. Jackson. Weirdly Joe is set free and engages in a cat and mouse game of life and death. He meets Marie (Elizabeth Olsen) who aids him on his quest.This is an oddly conceived film, reminding me of parts of superior films. The audience attempts to figure out what is happening and are given no clues. We find out when Joe finds out. The climax was anti-climatic and Joe's response was overly dramatic and out of character.Okay quirky rentalParental Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity (Elizabeth Olsen)

This is my first movie review and I felt this must be wrote after just finishing the movie. I find myself still in an odd state that's hard to describe, a bit of disbelief mixed with a touch of what-the-hell followed by silence. I was curious what others thought so I looked up the movie on here and was astounded by the number of 1-3 star ratings. The number one critique seems to be that it was not on par with the original.Being honest, going into this movie I never heard of this movie nor the original. I watched it because it had Elizabeth Olsen and my expectations really weren't that high going in.I enjoy movies that take you on a roller coaster of emotions which I definitely found true in this movie. I felt both Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen delivered great performances. Maybe I don't have the developed palate, to say, to find this movie as horrendous as the other reviewers, most of whom I assume highly praise and review Sundance Film Festival movies as "Graceful style with complex earthy tones of sage, a flutter of tobacco and the faintest soupcon of pencil lead flavors, which focus and gain intensity on the finish."I strongly suggest giving this movie a chance, and apparently, make sure to watch this one before you watch the original or you're sure to be let down.

You look at the cast - Samuel L Jackson, Josh Brolin and Sharlto Copley and say "wow, this film has to be at least decent because these guys would never sign onto a project that could be a total dud." This is an example of a one trick pony director (Spike Lee) who built a name around race-based films trying to actually do something other than his usual shtick and having his agents hook these names onto a project which they all probably regret.IMPORTANT: WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST. THEN START THIS FILM, WATCH 10 MINUTES AND THEN DECIDE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TORTURE YOURSELF FOR THE ENTIRE RUNNING TIME.Mistake #1 - You've got to be pretty darn arrogant to think you're going to do at least a good job if not better of remaking one of the greatest original films made. Why would anyone even try remaking Casablanca? The Godfather? Bladerunner? They nailed it perfectly - writing, editing, acting, casting, etc. Chances are you're going to fail.Mistake #2 - Trying to change the story to put your own trademark on your film. I couldn't understand why Spike Lee would bother with his own additions other than to sit back and enjoy seeing the pleasure of his own work where the black man has the upper hand. It's awkward, poorly scripted into the story, poorly acted and blows valuable running time to further Lee's conceit.Mistake #3 - Changing the most important parts of the story to put your own trademark to create a twist which desperately needs chemistry to work but failing miserably to generate it at all. This is a twisted film. The original is done very, very well. I would advise anyone NOT to watch this film and to watch the original so as to enjoy the entire movie and the way the reveals play themselves out. This steaming pile is tossed together with characters that really don't have chemistry and is disturbingly contrived. You will not be able to thank me enough times for telling you NOT TO WATCH THIS FILM AND TO SEE THE ORIGINAL FIRST. You see so many people saying the same thing and there is GOOD REASON for it. Not only will you LOVE the first film's style and execution but you won't be able to sit through the first 15 minutes of this film without being between a laugh and a retch. You will then save 90 minutes of your life. The rating on this film is only in the 5.x grade because Spike Lee clearly had his marketing people stuff the ballot box.WATCH THE ORIGINAL FIRST