SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

merelyaninnuendo State Of PlayThe first act is wasted upon introducing the characters and setting their sub-plots after which the analyzation of the investigation is chewed off way too much in its overlong second act that barely seeks attention until the last act arrives that flips one's whole opinion and expectations that they have been carrying around the whole feature. Kevin McDonald doesn't fail on executing the tension on the screen but the real culprit is the script that never had enough crisp to hold the audience for around 2 hours. Russell Crowe is decently good along with a great supporting cast like Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman. State Of Play has a great cast and is in safe hands on terms of executing the words but unfortunately these words aren't intriguing enough to invest in it.

Richie-67-485852 Who doesn't like Affleck and Crowe? Right there is a good reason to go see this movie. The fact that it is a political thriller makes it even more appealing. I knew nothing about it being based on a previous 6 part series of some sort. I went into it as a movie holding up its own. It did. These type of movies move along at a decent pace, allow the viewer to join in and provide a story-telling while unraveling the adventure and the mystery at the same time. This is entertainment. There are minor flaws but if one steps back to appreciate a couple of hours of watching they will love to....

KissEnglishPasto ...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA....and ORLANDO, FL Tried to avoid having much in the way of expectations for STATE of PLAY, but it was hard to be oblivious to the all the general good buzz. Also, hard not to know beforehand that the cast is exceptional and that it's getting relatively high ratings and strong reviews. Still, other than that, didn't really want to find out any more! Watching a solid, well-done film like STATE, is like watching a good athlete or an outstanding performer…They all make it look SO EASY! Just take an interesting, dynamic story; convert that into a cohesive, believable sounding screenplay; do your casting well, so you get a cast that can breathe life into the characters; craft the music to heighten the mood/ambiance at hand; edit the scenes for maximum impact and always know where you're going and be sure you take the movie in the direction of your vision! Easy-Peasy…Japanesey! Those are some of STATE's pluses.Like any movie it did have some minuses. I'll try and go over both. A powerhouse cast, that doesn't disappoint: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, and Jeff Daniels… WOW! Did the A-list want IN on this project, or what?!? Although Crowe does a fine job, he falls a little short of true excellence. A difficult task, attempting to shine when surrounded by ALL that talent! One surprise: Ben Affleck, not exactly on my favorite "actors" list, turns in a deviously devilish performance as the congressman who is keenly aware of his media image and how to protect it. But the big jaw-dropper here is Jason Bateman. His characterization fooled me completely! Had to wait for the credits to see who he was! His Uber- creepy-bottom-feeder-sleaze-ball was the film's real revelation! STATE falls down a bit because it is very light in the new and original Department. Still, it is a very well-crafted, entertaining movie! How's this for a chillingly ironic 10 year Date of authoring this review? SEP/11/11 -- 9* STARS....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

inspectors71 Every time I figured Kevin Macdonald's State of Play was going to descend into cliché and corn, somebody on screen did something I didn't expect. The whole premise of the movie, its "high concept," is a cliché, but Macdonald decides he's going to make something more than a dreary veteran-and-cub-reporters-crack-the-big-government-corruption-case movie. Even if the viewer is predisposed to dislike a journalism movie--the way my wife despises courtroom dramas and we both cringe at jailhouse suspensers--he or she is going to find the characters, for the most part, engaging, or, at least, comfortably recognizable. Three things that caught my eye, besides the plot twists that kept me interested: Supporting characters Helen Mirren and Jeff Daniels underplay their roles, although Mirren's character spends a good deal of the movie snapping and fuming at Russell Crowe and Rachel MacAdams, and Daniels is very believable as a Congressional leader who doesn't have all the evil moves you come to expect in movies.The second grace in State of Play is how little Macdonald uses Ben Affleck. He's a critical part of the story, but Affleck also underplays the part of a corrupt, trapped US representative. He has his moments of being dramatic, but there wasn't a bit of scenery getting chewed when he's confronted with his bad behavior. Finally, in a political thriller like this, made by our friends in Hollywood--who never seem to pass up a chance to be hopelessly partisan in their quest for creating a Workerz Paradise--have made it subtly clear that Affleck and Daniels are--Egads!--Democrats. They're slimy and corrupt and phoney as all get out, but they aren't eeevil Republicans!A movie that is founded on a tried-and-true cliché, plot twists that take the viewer by surprise, characters that don't consume the sets the way my Chihuahua wolfs down cat food, and some freaking originality in saying that corrupt politicians can be liberals? Sheesh, what's the world coming to?