So I’m going to state one thing right away: Killing Them Softly is not a terrible movie. It’s not what I would call a good movie, but it wasn’t terrible.

My dad would have found it terrible. He would have probably walked out, as four people in the showing I watched did. But it’s not a terrible movie.

It’s a violent, ugly movie, but it’s not terrible.

But I wouldn’t watch it again. I don’t know what I expected, but what I watched wasn’t it. I left the theatre satisfied that I had watched something, but I can’t say I was entertained. More than anything, that’s what I want. Flight was difficult to watch because it pulled at your emotions, but it was entertaining. Bond appeals to a basic enjoyment of film.

This movie was plot without story. It tried to hard to be “independent” or “artsy” and got lost along the way. This wasn’t a movie that ended with “wait, what?”, but rather plodded along with “where are they going with this?”.

So I can’t recommend it. The acting is first rate, the cinematography is just fine… but it just doesn’t add up.