#41 ·
little spoilers
man, if this were just unrealistic in a comic book kind of way, I wouldn't mind, but he’s just completely lost. It’s not even about that—it’s that you don't get any sense of New York City at all. Just look at how they handle the whole mafia concept. What makes them the mafia? Because they have tattoos? Or because some detective mentions a corpse had tattoos from The Mafia? (was that even their name?) They aren't doing any actual underworld business besides a murder at the start—which we find out later wasn't even ordered by Kirill's father—they aren't smuggling, killing, ordering hits, or laundering money... what actually makes them a mafia? And they're short on manpower too... even in comic books, they usually bother to characterize who people are and why they do things.
As for casting, any director can mess up, and honestly, it happens all the time. I'm not saying I'm definitely right about Viggo, since I didn't back up my take on his portrayal of a mobster/agent with anything concrete. I just said how I perceived him. From what I can see, other people are giving Viggo more positive reviews, but they aren't offering much substance either... just showering him with compliments.
*Anyway, if we haven't cleared up the thing about New York City yet, let me say it one more time. I don't mind an unrealistic depiction of something; sometimes that's even better because it adds a certain charm to a real-world setting. What bothers me is a non-existent depiction... like setting a story in Brooklyn but making it look like it could have been filmed anywhere else. If it looks like that, why call it Brooklyn?
man, if this were just unrealistic in a comic book kind of way, I wouldn't mind, but he’s just completely lost. It’s not even about that—it’s that you don't get any sense of New York City at all. Just look at how they handle the whole mafia concept. What makes them the mafia? Because they have tattoos? Or because some detective mentions a corpse had tattoos from The Mafia? (was that even their name?) They aren't doing any actual underworld business besides a murder at the start—which we find out later wasn't even ordered by Kirill's father—they aren't smuggling, killing, ordering hits, or laundering money... what actually makes them a mafia? And they're short on manpower too... even in comic books, they usually bother to characterize who people are and why they do things.
As for casting, any director can mess up, and honestly, it happens all the time. I'm not saying I'm definitely right about Viggo, since I didn't back up my take on his portrayal of a mobster/agent with anything concrete. I just said how I perceived him. From what I can see, other people are giving Viggo more positive reviews, but they aren't offering much substance either... just showering him with compliments.
*Anyway, if we haven't cleared up the thing about New York City yet, let me say it one more time. I don't mind an unrealistic depiction of something; sometimes that's even better because it adds a certain charm to a real-world setting. What bothers me is a non-existent depiction... like setting a story in Brooklyn but making it look like it could have been filmed anywhere else. If it looks like that, why call it Brooklyn?