It’s a shame, for sure. Andrew Niccol, the writer and director behind the much better sci-fi 1990s hit Gattaca as well as the writer who brought us the one movie that manages to make me cry no matter how many times I see it, The Truman Show, put together quite a noteworthy cast for his new movie. The movie boasts Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried in lead roles, with Olivia Wilde and Cillian Murphy in notable supporting roles. I mean, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a stellar cast, but definitely a take-notice one, with Cillian Murphy, for one, shining. Having written the screenplay for this latest venture, Niccol did succeed in creating an attention grabbing plot. What turns into a suspenseful cat-and-mouse game, this Robin Hood meets Bonnie and Clyde movie starts off as an interesting take on wealth in a capitalistic society (how very apropos a subject). Additionally, the movie’s colors, lighting, and even costumes made for an extremely aesthetically pleasing film.

All this aside though, the movie was just three steps away from being a good movie. The problem is these three steps were fairly important ones. While the claim can be made that Justin Timberlake is acting better in this film than in any before (nowhere to go but up, right?), the movie was plagued with overacting from all ends (except for Murphy, of course), making it feel like a bad melodrama rather than anything else. Moreover, the plot was filled with holes that could have been easily fixed with better editing and a bit more explaining. Finally, what really bothered me more than most other things, was that this great truth the movie purports to discover is really a common critique of a capitalist society, one that is continually brought up in our Occupy Wall Street time, thus dating this movie that is supposed to take place in the future.

So, if you can overlook those three main issues, then this movie is for you. If not, seeing it didn’t amount to a total waste of time as the action sequences and, let me reiterate, the aesthetic quality of the film really hold up. Well done on those ends, Niccol.

I’d say RENT IT, but if you really are gunning for this movie, then it probably would have more of an effect on the big screen so SEE IT? (but only if you must)