Sugar Mountain

I have been waiting a couple of years now to catch this film on TV, and when it was recently aired I made sure I taped it so that I could watch it with my undivided attention. With first rate stars such as Jason Momoa and Cary Elwes I was expecting a much better thriller than what was delivered. The director Richard Gray does not have an extensive resume, his previous mainstream film was the 2014 film titled "The Lookalike". I have not seen that one either yet. After watching his latest directorial film, Sugar Mountain I am in no hurry to watch The Lookalike.

This film started off pretty good, but don't let the film name or the film's suspenseful and artful cover fool you. It's nothing special and quickly goes from a zoom zoom to a putter putter.....and then pffffttt

I give it a 4 out 10 IMDB Rating

Cary Elwes and Jason Momoa. A huge fist of twists. A not bad story but not brilliant used. And a lot of holes.

Siblings, the girlfriend of one of them, the sheriff , mountain as refuge and a not so credible story, truths and not inspired dialogue.

And, sure, few good scenes.

Not a bad film but an example of story complicated in too many plots , with a not so great end.

There are too many plot twists to be believable, and the characters are bit flat. There are moments when I just rolled my eyes in disbelief at how unimaginative the writing. I felt nothing for the characters, and the story isn't anchored with any practical ideas.

"He knows the mountains too well no one would believe he got lost. You'd have to do it." Miles (Roy) and Liam (Coffey) are brothers who have been struggling. Looking for ways to make money they decide to fake a disappearance and sell their story. Miles, heads up a mountain while Liam reports him missing. What seems like a quick and easy way to make money soon changes the lives of everyone involved. This is a movie that had such promise. The idea was interesting and had me looking forward to seeing it. What the movie became though was a jumbled mess of plot lines that came from everywhere and made it hard to not only get into but keep from laughing at. This fake disappearance movie contained a hardened un-trusting cop, blackmail, an angry collection thug, false accusations, constantly changing sides and stories, hidden secrets and more family drama than a soap opera. The movie was just too over the place and distracted from the main focus of the movie, but then again it was hard to tell what the main focus was. Overall, a jumbled mess that reminded me of Aloha in the way that there were just too many story lines that didn't seem to fit with each other. That aspect really really hurt what could have been an interesting and tense movie. I give this a C+.

The premise of the movie, Sugar Mountain, sounds intriguing, but the execution of the story turns out to be lackluster/mediocre at best. It lacks either good direction, writing, acting or whatever it is that makes a movie thrilling and dramatic. The movie has many twists and turns, but I felt no excitement for or interest in any of the characters and their situations. Cary Elwes delivers the best performance acting-wise, while the others are okay.

Contrast this movie with let's say the movie, A Simple Plan, which is dramatic, suspenseful, thrilling and has excellent acting throughout where you feel for the characters and their various plights.

Overall, If you're bored and just want to watch something to pass some time, Sugar Mountain is watchable...just barely.