Saw this over the weekend and was not impressed. Most of the dialogue was horrible, and certain scenese laughable. The movie really goes nowhere until about the last 20 minutes where it tries to build some semblance of a story. The only positive sides to this movie were Christian Bale and J.K. Simmons(JJ from Spiderman). Eva Longoria isn't bad to look at, but not much of an actress. I don't watch Desperate Housewives so I can't say if this is better or worse. As everyone can see, the reviews aren't pouring in and I think it was a correct sign. C-/D+

Basically, what Cleric said. I don't think the film goes anywhere at all. I think there's a good film in there somewhere, but it gets too weird and random. Bale's performance makes up for it a little, though.

C

I saw this theatrically and recently bought the DVD. It's a very underrated crime drama with a fantastic performance by Christian Bale. A-.

Harsh Times reminds me of the old saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover". That applies to movies as well, "Never judge a movie by it's trailer". I probably didn't pay close enough to the trailer and tv spots because I thought Harsh Times was going to be a carbon copy of Training Day. Maybe it's because the tv spots kept mentioning that the film was from the director who did that film, and somehow in my mind that got confused with it having the same sort of plot with that movie. Instead of two random guys I thought the film was about two cops, one of whom has a breakdown. After watching the film, I can kind of see someone getting confused by that based on the spots, because for awhile, they drive around in a crown vic and dress sharply.

Little did I know, and to use flashy terminology, Harsh Times is a character study. That's it. There's nothing more to it. It's a character study about someone breaking down from the effects of war. In that regard it's slightly similar, because Training Day was about the pysche of a cop. Here, it's about the pysche of a war verteran. The comparisons end there though. The question is whether or not it's a good character study. It turns out that it was one of the best from last year. It doesn't make my top 10, but it lands somewhere in the top 20. That's thanks to the performance by Bale. The movie is absolute dependent on his performance and he is nothing short of fantastic. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say it was Oscar worthy. Maybe if the field wasn't as good as it was this year, he could've snuck in. It just goes to show that one day Bale will pick up an Oscar.

The good thing though is that Bale gets some nice supporting help. Freddy Rodriguez is very good as Bale's best friend, and Longoria in her short screen time gives a somewhat memorable performance although you could say she is nothing more than a scared wife.

All in all the film is very good and a great character study about the effects of war.

A

B


I am in agreement with some comments above that thew film doesn't seem to go anywhere. But actually, at the end of the film if you look back, there's a red thread throughout the film which deals with Christian Bale's descent into madness. Freddy Rodriguez isn't given much to do and Eva Longoria is only here to look good and provide for some framework plot. The real shining bright star f this otherwise just average film is Christian Bale who once again stuns with a brilliant, layered and moving portrayal of a dark and hurt character. Once again, Bale was overlooked by the Academy. He carries this film on his own!

Disappointing. Christian Bale is good, but the film itself is quite unexciting.

C

Harsh Times

Thought I'd give this a second watch since seeing it and disliking it at the cinema. Well, it wasn't bad this time around. I suppose I knew what to expect, which made my enjoyment easier, but still, there are some good things about the movie. Christian Bale, as we've come to expect, gives a great performance - I love him in roles like this where he's on the edge of flipping the fuck out! It's great to see. The story is, well, there's kind of no story to be honest, you just follow them around while they "look" for a job, and stuff happens. I got a big bored of the constant "dude", "homey", "dog" and "bro" talk, but it was fitting with the characters, so it wasn't too bad.

David Ayer can make a movie, for sure. So here's hoping he doesn't fuck up Ten. Still need to watch End of Watch - it's on my list, so I'll get around to it.

C+

I think I gave it much worse before, around a "D".