The Counselor (Michael Fassbender) is a defense lawyer with questionable friends like Reiner (Javier Bardem). Reiner is a brash club owner living a lavish lifestyle and introduces the Counselor to drug trafficker Westray (Brad Pitt). The Counselor proposes to girlfriend Laura (Penélope Cruz). Reiner's woman Malkina (Cameron Diaz) is wild and outrageous. Meanwhile the drug cartel is transporting drugs in an old liquid waste tank truck. The Counselor has a client Ruth (Rosie Perez) in prison. Her son is connected to the drugs and he bails him out of a speeding ticket. Then things go terribly wrong.
I don't know what Cormac McCarthy wrote but what director Ridley Scott put on the screen is a mess. None of the four main characters are compelling. Fassbender projects no emotions. Bardem is way over the top still with a bit of Bond villain in him. Diaz is at least interesting, but Cruz is lost in this innocent sweet character. Brad Pitt comes in for a nice cameo. The story feels disjointed. There are bits of great ideas dispersed throughout the movie. However the bits don't add up to a compelling movie. All the A-list stars step on each other. It needs a grittier dirtier style to make this realistic and exciting. The action comes in a little too late. And Fassbender's coolness works against him here.
I don't know what Cormac McCarthy wrote but what director Ridley Scott put on the screen is a mess. None of the four main characters are compelling. Fassbender projects no emotions. Bardem is way over the top still with a bit of Bond villain in him. Diaz is at least interesting, but Cruz is lost in this innocent sweet character. Brad Pitt comes in for a nice cameo. The story feels disjointed. There are bits of great ideas dispersed throughout the movie. However the bits don't add up to a compelling movie. All the A-list stars step on each other. It needs a grittier dirtier style to make this realistic and exciting. The action comes in a little too late. And Fassbender's coolness works against him here.