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Pretty Good

Best movie ever!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

i had heard of Howard marks, but didn't know much about him, so i looked forward to seeing this film, i wasn't disappointed, its a good romp, i wasn't bored once, some people might think a film about a drug smuggler would be bad, but hash is no worse then booze in the wrong hands. And the film is really an anti drug smuggling film, as Howard loses years of life he would have been spending with his wife and children , prisonlife is not fun,if you like seeing films about people, who live unusual lives , then you'll enjoy this film.my only gripe is the volume is quite low in places and mood music too loud, so they make it hard to hear whats being said.maybe i need a surround system.But that aside id recommend this film .

I think I've seen enough films glamourising the life of drug dealers on a large scale. Yes, I understand it can be a harmless recreational activity... but for some families the effects of addiction and the consequences afterwards can be absolutely devastating. Not to mention, the illegal acts the users partake in to AFFORD this stuff. So seeing Rhys Ifans and his wife and three daughters have a tearful reunion towards the end of his well-deserved stint in prison (though, I think the movie disagrees) in the final reel did not cause me to shed a tear. Rather, it made me reflect on all the mothers and fathers that would never see their children again... as a result of this idiot's life choices. He gets to go home with his girls. Shame a lot of those who were foolish enough to make him a multi-millionaire aren't so lucky.Aside from the dubious moral ground this plot finds itself on, there are a multitude of other flaws too. Like: Ifans never visibly aging, even though the movie spans at least 30 years. Paper-thin characters, who are more comedy props than living, breathing individuals. Especially the females. Speaking of which, Chloe Sevigny's role... despite being billed second, she does NOTHING, and as a result, leaves no impression. The use of archive footage which Ifans & Co are inserted into... it occasionally works, but is more clumsy than anything. We're not talking Forrest Gump standard special effects here.The most serious problem of all here though, is that the life of this supposed 'multi national drug smuggler' is rather boring. The excerpts from his life we see here, from his time in Oxford as a student, to meeting the IRA and setting up his worldwide narcotics empire are handled in the most dull way possible and as a result fail to engage the viewer. Mr Nice as played by Ifans is not very likable in the first place, and surrounding him with a one-note supporting cast of potheads and inept police just compounds the issue that there's no-one to care about here.And when it gets all maudlin, as Ifans is 'turned in' by those he thought he could trust, We are presumably meant to feel sorry for this long haired loser. Not a chance. His last line proves he didn't learn a thing from his time inside, and his early release looks like a serious error. As did this entire production. Mr Nice? Mr ZZZ more like... 4/10

Not the worst movie of 2010, but certainly a massive let down after all of the expectations I held for this.The makers passed by a wonderful opportunity to play out the remarkable life of Howard Marks - AKA Mr. Nice...AKA..... They failed miserably.I even wonder if they actually bothered to even read his book (Entitled Mr. Nice - If you haven't read it, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy and you will realize what I mean about the shortcomings of the movie) They let all of the best and most interesting parts of the story out, most of it was missed! Even if the movie had been 4 hours long, it would never needed to have been boring, they skipped over all of the hilarious irony, the House of Lords Lord Dining with the IRA Terrorist, the bar crawls with the dwarfs in the Philippines, shame on them, they really had no idea how to put this book into a movie. I am sadly unable to give this any more than a 3, it really deserves a lot less given the narrative was already available from Howard Marks in the original book. They simply had no idea of what made an interesting biography.With a bit of luck, someone may have another REAL attempt, the material is there for an amazing movie from an amazing life, all of it skipped over by the incompetent fools that made this rubbish.

I don't know whether it was deliberate or not, but I found the picture quality very poor. It may have been to make it look more like a period piece, but more likely it was the best the budget would allow. I thought Rhys Ifans did an excellent job, although he never seems to age all through the film! I loved the small part David Thewlis played; the mad- cap Irishman was just brilliant. As to the plot; well I found it far too sympathetic to Marks; not surprising since it was based on his book I hear you say. But I would have thought the filmmakers would have put a little balance in there; what effect did all the drugs he sold all over the world have? How many innocent lives were affected? All this seemed inconsequential and probably explains why, despite some excellent performances, the film didn't perform very well both at the box office and also critically. For me, whilst I enjoyed the performances, I found it a little too self-indulgent.SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED (…Just)My score: 5.8/10.You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.