The Drop (2014)

Fresh and Exciting

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Tom Hardy is absolutely superb. His character, Bob, must rate as one of the most sympathetic characters since Forest Gump! Yeah, ok... But really, watch it.It's a solid story with solid performances and direction.It's a low key thriller about low life criminals but full of character and tension.Yes, there's adog in it and that's just suckered me in more than usual.If you needed any further proof of what a superb actor Tom Hardy is, You're just not watching.

As a lover of the trade and somewhat of an experienced viewer and judge of *character acting*. One can tell when an actress/actor are given opportunities as a consequence of genuine talent and MERIT --- and on the other hand when someone were NOT... Sometimes bad acting can ruin it. Big time. Not a sinister person and I´m sorry, but - Noomi Rapace is a mediocre "actress" at best. She lacks depth in anything she does on the big screen. Yes, she had a breakthrough with a part in a Swedish film (that was probably difficult to fail in). But then what?! Rapace's voice is as wonderfully dynamic and pleasurable as fingernails on a chalkboard. Every. Single. Line. I usually choose not to ever comment on anybody´s looks unless whoever is fortunate enough to be attractive, or was given an interesting and/or unique personal appearance that gives value to a specific character or the experience as a whole. However. When taking up space that someone genuinely talented and skillful should have had, perhaps an audience may be entitled to. If I´m 5´5" and a lousy ball technician that can´t jump, perhaps I shouldn´t be in the NBA. Some peoples' physical features can annoy enough to distract ones attention away from the character or plot, but often times the acting is skillful and strong enough to overcome this and instead use it to the advantage of the entirety of the film. Unfortunately the latter is far from happening here. With hardly mediocre acting skills and less than an attractive voice and looks, well...

Clearly, this movie carries some violence and might not be everybody's cup of tea, but it is pillared by superb performances by Hardy - perhaps his best to date - Gandolfini, Rapace and Schoenaerts.Good dialogue, strong direction, impeccable photography, and a very credible storyline make this one of the more unexpected gems I have watched recently.Well deserved 8/10.

This was one slow-paced underwhelming film. My girlfriend and I decided to finally watch a movie after only watching series such as Billions, Empire and Suits for the past year. Boy, could we have chosen a more boring movie.While the plot twists are not all bad, the script has the movie play out in a boring setting to begin with, and when the delivery and speed of it is so mindbogglingly droll it just becomes a pain to watch. Halfway in we asked ourselves if we should switch movie or fast-forward, but decided to sit it out. Now I wish we hadn't. Good acting on the most part couldn't save this movie, and not sure anything could. If you're an everyday moviegoer that likes some pace to your movies, beware that this might not be your cup of tea. It certainly wasn't our.