Die in a Gunfight

This movie tries hard to be a mix of a Tarantino / Guy Richie / Wes Anderson type of vibe.

It fails dismally. Lazy & unimaginative writing, uninteresting characters, poor acting, inconsistent plot.

Overall, you'll have to force yourself to see it through to the end. Don't bother.

Within the first 10 minutes, this movie establishes a few things: The main character is unbearably and pointlessly annoying. The narrator sounds like your stoner friend in college. Every character in the film, no matter how irrelevant, needs to be introduced with a Guy Ritchie rip-off freeze frame. The sound editing is laughably amateur. The script is so full of cringe it hurts. The only thing impressive about this film is how badly it fails after trying so hard. I'm sure a large portion of viewers watched because of Alexandra Daddario, but even if you're her biggest fan, this is one performance you'll want to skip.

Who was this for? I'm guessing 14-year-olds that have seen Tarantino shirts at Hot Topic and love the aesthetic pages on Instagram that have pictures of Heath Ledger. I didn't think this was going to be "Snatch" or "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", but I'm drinking in a hotel by myself on a work trip and was hoping it would be fun at least. I started fast-forwarding halfway though. There are no jokes, no gunfights, no interesting characters. I watched two rom-coms last night and cried about an ex. I love that stuff. This was about two rich kids that never owned cell phones (i guess) who get back together after not wanting to split up in the first place. So what was the grand act of love that brought them back together? What was the journey they had to go on? What life and death stakes were they willing to brave for each other? Let me tell you...it was just being back in the same room together after a couple of years at college apart.

They should have included a booklet about the movie and bonus lsd tabs in the physical case. That could have been a good Special Edition!

IN A NUTSHELL: In New York City, a young guy falls for the daughter of his father's nemesis. Mary and Ben are the star-crossed black sheep of two powerful families engaged in a centuries-long feud. When the pair reignites a romance after many years apart, their forbidden love draws a motley assortment of schemers and killers into their orbit, and as fists and bullets fly, it becomes clear that violent delights will have violent ends. The quirky romance is directed by Collin Schiffli. While critics are hating this movie, audiences really like it.

THINGS I LIKED: It's a modern romance inspired by Romeo and Juliet.

I've always enjoyed Alexandra Daddario in movies and so I'm happy to see her in another one.

Diego Boneta did a great job as an extremely flawed, annoying protagonist.

The standout characters that were the most entertaining were those played by Travis Fimmel and Justin Chatwin. They were both hilarious, offering the comic relief for the film. Justin Chatwin actually performed his own stunts. He's an extreme sports fan and motorcycle enthusiast in real life!

I liked the musical score.

Snarky humor.

Fun fact: There were only 23 days of filming.

Billy Crudup's name is included in the cast, but he only provides the voice-over narration.

If you like Guy Ritchie's take on movie-making, you might get a kick out of this film, full of unique style and violence.

There's a creative animation element to the movie that makes it fun and whimsical.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: It's hard to feel sorry for self-absorbed, rich people.

The protagonist is a real jerk.

All of the characters feel poorly developed.

So much exposition.

The script is badly written with super cheesy dialogue and plot.

SUPER lazy ending.

A lot of the humor doesn't land.

The film starts strong and with great promise but then quickly starts taking a nosedive.

I quickly became bored.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Tons of bloody violence Disgusting sound effects when some people were killed Various weapons used Crude language, profanity, and F-bombs Pre-marital "relations"

l.