Film Brief: Out of the Furnace

THERE’S PRETTY MUCH NO REASON for Out of the Furnace, unless you’re interested in seeing Woody Harrelson in an even more evil role than Rampart.  It’s got a giant, very talented cast — besides Harrelson, there’s Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Willem Dafoe, and Forest Whitaker.  I really liked Affleck, who’s turning out to be someone like Mark Wahlberg or Ryan Gosling as someone who’s always compelling on screen.

But this is a lackluster, tired, big so-what of a story.  With inconsequential commentary on a soldier returning home from war, I reckon it’s trying to be a sort of modern-day Deer Hunter — but this is no Deer Hunter.  The cast is mostly wasted here, but they do a good job with what they have, and individual scenes are well handled.  The main fault I have with this movie is the uninspired plot framed by an amateurish narrative structure.  4/10

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Comparison Notes: Recommended: The Deer Hunter, Mystic River, My Name Is Joe, Prisoners, The Machinist; Not Recommended: The Place Beyond the Pines