Movie Review: State of Play

I saw this on Saturday. Mike, being a big fan of journalism movies (All the President's Men, Good Night and Good Luck, His Girl Friday, Zodiac) wanted to check it out. I definitely enjoyed it (Russel Crowe, Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, and Rachel McAdams give great performances), but there was something lacking in the plotting. Mike described it as about 80% of the quality of Michael Clayton, and I would agree with that. It's not quite as amped up as Clayton, so you're not waiting for some one's car to blow up the entire time. Nor are the plot twists quite so twisty, and the ending just sort of putters out. The constant whining over the death of print newspapers is also a bit much, making the movie feel a little grumpy. Also, how in the world are we supposed to believe that Russel Crowe and Ben Affleck are close enough in age to have gone to college together? In real life about 8 years separate them, and Affleck has a perpetual twenty-something look to him. Overall, a tasty snack but not a full meal.