Tigerland

Having only seen him in Minority Report and Phone Booth, two films in which he is good without being great, I thought it was time to investigate why he's getting all the top gigs in Hollywood these days. Tigerland was my first stop, a film I'd passed over many times due to the crowded genre and the name Joel Schumacher on the credits. I was pleasantly surprised to find an original take on the Vietnam story and some decent character performances. As a whole the direction is a little sloppy and commercial and the script becomes a little repetative in places, but at no time is farrell at fault in a really top notch role delivered with charisma, angst and his trademark twinkle. The guy sure has something and he has it in barrowloads. I'm now much more keen to see Alexander, and can look forward to Terrance Mallick's New World without trepidation. 7.5/10 Kx