I always thought Gavin Hood, who directed X-Men Origins:Wolverine, wasn't to be blamed wholly for that disaster of a movie. I actually liked some parts of that movie but disliked a lot of the other parts. What I couldn't confirm was how much of it was actually Hood's fault and how much was the studio's.
I quite enjoyed Ender's Game, the only other movie of his that I've seen. So after seeing Eye In The Sky, I would now have to say, half of X-Men Origins' disaster rested on his shoulders.
This movie has a great screenplay by Guy Hibbert, and it could have been a bigger hit had Hood's direction been smoother and tighter.
The buildup in the first half was a little slow but necessary, though the pacing of the movie was very consistent throughout. As the plot unfolded, the tension began to rise and I had no complaints on Hood's direction here.
But as we get into the most suspenseful parts of the movie with Aaron Paul's character, it got me frustrated because some of the preparation work on Paul's part just didn't make sense in a situation like this. When the kill-shot was given, how and why would it take him another couple of minutes to get ready to fire?
It's just one of those unrealistic situations that I don't appreciate when it comes to these kinds of movies.
Also, I did not like the ending sequence, where it revolved around one victim of the story. There's no subtlety at all when done like that and I saw it as a blatant pull at the heartstrings of the movie-goer. Another one of these things that I just don't appreciate when it's done so obvious.
But the performances here, especially by Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman, were solid. And it's sad to see Rickman now because this is probably the last movie by him that we'll get to see here. (We'll only get to hear his voice and see a bit of his face in Alice Through The Looking Glass.)
I have not lost all hope on Hood as a director yet, so let's see what he does next.
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