Grade (D+)

A crime-thriller that has its moments but fails to deliver the intended intrigue with weak characters and a slow pace.

“MISCONDUCT” stars Josh Duhamel as Ben, a young, driven attorney that takes on a case against a massive pharmaceutical corporation headed by Denning played by Anthony Hopkins. Soon after he takes the case Ben’s life is turned upside-down in a web of lies, deceit, black-mail and corruption.

First I will say this movie was not a good as it should have been for having both Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino in it. While this movie failed to fully compel there were some good aspects that make it pass the time and not completely disappoint. There were sections of the story that did build some intrigue and early on it did engage the audience in the building of the plot. But as it went on the pace seemed to falter too much and the multiple twists and turns were not quite fleshed out enough to give the story a good flow. It did have moments of suspense but it also had moments of predictability, plot-line convenience and unrealistic characters.

Josh Duhamel was the lead in this one and he was pretty good. He felt the part of the young up-and-coming lawyer and you could see enough energy in his performance to connect with his character, and to some extent find interest in how the story-line will play out for him. It was also nice to see this film not simply use Hopkins and Pacino as mere cameos to sell their faces on some movie posters and promo material. Both of these legends were able to add their talents to the film, although only to an extent, given their impact on the story and their development in the writing stages.

While Duhamel was able to carry this film, the scenes with Pacino and Hopkins undoubtedly are the best and command your attention each time they effortlessly deliver their lines. The rest of the cast was decent as well and none hindered the film with their performances. It was just the lack of development in characters that I think hindered the cast from truly connecting with their roles. There were some moments of over-acting, others of odd character decision making and some of it seemed to result in moments that felt a little too convenient.

The story as it progressed also seemed to lose some focus and it was visible in a messy late second-act where there story veered off into many sub-plots to begin developing the intended twists. The frequency of the moving from angle to angle cost the script some of its impact but in the end it was still a decent story-line that passes the time, more than holding you up in your seat as you watch. The film looked very polished, the wardrobes and locations were well selected and add something to a film that was lacking in other areas.

Overall “Misconduct” had some glimmers of intrigue but in the end tells a rather interesting story but failed to fully deliver the intended suspense and despite the cast of familiar faces, the film is surprisingly forgettable.

– Starring –

Josh Duhamel, Malin Akerman, Alice Eve, Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, Glen Powell, Byung-hun Lee

– Directed By –

Shintaro Shimosawa

Time: 106 min

MPAA Rating: R (For language, violence and some sexuality/nudity)