Confidential Informant

This is another one of those endless Lionsgate movies which cast one star (Mel Gibson is this case -- who seems to be making a lot of these movies lately) that are churned out, for what audience I dont know.

I cannot imagine that this was released in movie theatres. Maybe internationally and streamed here? Beats me.

There's also some B level actor who's been in a TV cop series who shows up in this. It's clear that the movie is Gibsen's money-for-nothing film. He's barely in it and obviously got paid solely for his star power. Kate Boswirth is there too but she has little to do except show up and pretend to cry.

In all, the film reaks of cheapness and poor directing.

This movie is stupefyingly dull. Monotonous delivery, dismal dialogue, a flatlined plot, and a complete void where any emotional impact should occur. Given all of that, it's absurd that the movie seems to take itself so seriously.

Some movies are so bad that they're good. Some are so bad that they're funny. This is neither. It is simply just bad. And boring. So very boring.

I tried my best, but lost interest within 20 minutes. I did some house chores instead, just listening over my shoulder to follow the storyline. That only made doing chores more boring. I turned off the movie and time passed quicker.

As I compose this review, screenwriters are going on strike. The level of writers, directors and producers of this gutter-calibre film don't deserve minimum wage.

I feel bad for the stellar cast that sadly, even they couldn't save this poorly executed mess. I really liked the concept of the story - apparently it's based on actual events (as per closing credits), and in the hands of a better filmmaker, this story could've and should've shined.

But sadly, experienced cinematographer, and producer and director of this film, Michael Oblowitz - with an astonishing 36 prior directorial credits, still hasn't learned how to make a compelling, viewable and engaging film. As a cinematographer, he failed miserably with his choices of horrible color palettes, murky lighting, outdated slow-mo shots and bad camera angles, and he failed even more with his horrible directing, laughable action choreography, shoddy camera work, lackluster editing, and even worse cast direction. His slow pacing made the normally comfortable 88 min runtime feel never-ending.

All these flaws and lack of cinematic creativity, as well as the constant overbearing and unfitting score, hindered what could have been an impactful and suspense-filled narrative. A fifth grade drama class could come up with a better film. I think Oblowitz should find a new hobby, like basket-weaving, and leave filmmaking to those who have the knack. It's a very generous 5/10 all going to the amazing cast who tried their best with what they had to work with. Even if you're a fan like I am of Gibson, Purcell, and the always stunning Kate Bosworth, do yourself a favor and skip this cringe-worthy production, it's not worth your time.

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Forget about the poster, thinking that this might be another great Mel Gibson dirty cop movie. NOT. Mel Gibson is only starring in this movie for a few lousy minutes, that's all.

The bad: the rest of this movie is filled with C-listed actors, who usually only star in television series and the sorts. This is a new low for Mel Gibson. Why did he have to choose such an inferior movie to star in? Is he running on lower ground? I hope not.

More bad: this movie has NOTHING going for it. It's terribly amateurish. Incredibly cheap looking. But most important of all, there is ZERO thrill or suspense.

Let's forget this was ever made and I hope Mel Gibson gets offered some better roles next time...

While the plot is sound and the subject worthwhile, the execution falls flat in nearly every aspect. Good actors can only do so much with a script that borders on juvenile - quite likely the worst script Michael Kaycheck has put his name on - it seems to be more of a Law and Order episode cowritten by Brooke Nasser and convoluted by the directorial overreach of Michael Oblowitz. All in all a terrible collaboration. As for the cast, great acting by all throughout, which is especially noteworthy given the aforementioned script and amateurish direction. Maybe Oblowitz should stick to short films and music videos if this is the best he can do given such a cast.