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The Worst Film Ever

Powerful

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Um argumento razoável com uma grande interpretação de Bale.

I read reviews here on movies that I might watch on premium networks or 'On Demand' movies. So, there were several good ones about this movie, likening it to "Training Day", which I loved. Wow, what a huge disappointment, not even close to Training Day. With a good cast, I had high expectations. So, if you like f**k, this and f**k that, and homeboy handshakes every 40 seconds, you're in luck. I kept expecting the plot to pick up. I kept expecting the acting to get better. I kept hoping the grainy film would clear up. Just don't look for anything more than 'filler' on your screen. I forwarded to the bitter end after about an hour and change. Look elsewhere!

I've read a short summary of what 'Harsh Times' is about here on IMDb and couple of reviews. After this I had got the feeling that it is going to be like the 'Training day' - how the things on the street are going on, inside look into the gangs etc. I love 'Training day' so I was really looking forward to seeing 'Harsh Times'.***********SPOILERS AHEAD************* Instead of it, I've seen a movie about selling a stolen gun and thinking about a new job. This already says, that there is no actual plot whatsoever. It's just about few days of some people in LA and Mexico.There is nothing much going on at the first hour (except of beginning which was really promising)! The two friends are trying to get high and laid, meeting their uninteresting friends, looking for problems here and there, doing this and that in order to find a new job etc. There are some good tense or funny moments but it is overall boring, it doesn't follow any story and every scene looks random.The film starts to be more interesting after the first hour, when Jim (Bale) gets a new job in Federal Task force in Colombia but then it drops again to the low level of the first hour. The last gripping moment is at the end when Jim gets crazy, gets shot and his friend Mike has to finish him (this scene was actually very good). It means the film has some opportunities - some good scenes - to get attractive, but never make use of them; 'Harsh Times' fails to build something watchable on these sequences, expanding them. Lost potential.***********END OF SPOILERS************* The main characters are difficult to like - as well as the others (Mike's wife, Mike's and Jim's friends ...). I couldn't feel any sympathy to any of them nor could I understand the motives of their actions. The dialog between Jim, Mike and their buddies is irritating, same every time, full of 'Man', 'Bro', 'Dawg', 'Homie...' crap and hand greetings. Problem is that it looks and sounds so forced in 'Harsh Times' and therefore quite unbelievable and embarrassingly. Conclusion: Overall uninteresting except some promising moments, full of missed opportunities, monotonous dialogs (wannabe gangsta), unlikeable characters, no plot = disappointment. And at the top of the things it is incomparable to 'Training Day' - can't figure out why people compare these two movies to each other. Training Day has a great plot, good action, surprising and tense development. Harsh Times lacks it all.

Harsh times is a very hard film to enjoy. Its a gritty drama, filled with violence, drugs and insanity. That's why people seem to dismiss it, there's so much in-you-face material that the deeper meaning gets ignored.I can't comment too much without spoiling, so I'll just give a recommendation- watch the whole film and try too look past the IMDb score and your first impression of the characters.Bale's acting gets bashed a lot, but that's part of his character. His psychotic behavior and insanity are part of the loud subtlety of this film.Even if we ignore the plot, this movie has a great atmosphere that will appeal to people who enjoy realistic and dark portrayals of real life cities. It reminded me a lot of The Wire.