I’d say I was vastly disappointed with Misconduct considering the cast the filmmaker managed to gather but I’ve been reviewing too long to give my hopes up and the studio of late hasn’t had a the best of track records but with the likes of Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins, even in the late stages of their careers, you’d think the script would’ve been better.
Misconduct
(2016)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Drama, Crime
Lionsgate | R – 106 min. – $24.99 | April 19, 2016
Date Published: 05/02/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 2.0/5 |
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After watching Misconduct, I was sure it was based on some third-rate, trashy mystery-thriller novel. When I found it was not, then it became a third-rate, trashy mystery-thriller movie where the filmmakers somehow wrangled in some quality talent topped by Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins not to mention some B-level talent like Josh Duhamel, Alice Eve, Julia Stiles and Malin Akerman. I can’t say I was disappointed as I’ve learned to temper any expectations with these Lionsgate Premiere movies but even so, I can only shake my head at the misuse (misconduct?) of the cast.
Ben Cahill (JOSH DUHAMEL) and his wife Charlotte (ALICE EVE), dealing with the loss of their unborn child, fill the grief with their work and for Ben that’s working overdrive at a high-powered law firm and will get a case win at all cost, even going over the ethical line to do so. When his ex-girlfriend Emily Hynes (MALIN AKERMAN) comes back into his life, an innocent drink quickly progresses to a near sexual encounter at her apartment. There, she reveals she has files on her (much) older boyfriend Arthur Denning (ANTHONY HOPKINS), CEO of a pharmaceutical company, illegal activities that will not only cost him billions but will land him in jail. Ben uses the opportunity as a way to make his way up the ladder at the firm. Meanwhile, Denning receives a phone message and a photo of a bruised up Emily demanding $2 million in exchange for her life. With the aid of a private security firm, led by a woman named Jane (JULIA STILES), they meet the randevu spot, at an art gallery, only for Denning to go off-script and beat up a man presumed to be Emily’s kidnapper. The reason for this is revealed down the line but it’s not entirely satisfactory. And as for Jane? Yeah, she doesn’t factor much into the plot…
Ben goes to the firm’s boss, Charles Abrams (AL PACINO), who just so happens to be mortal enemies against Denning, to take on Denning one more time in spite of losing numerous cases before. For whatever reason, not entirely explained, Abrams allows Ben to handle the case with the promise of partnership if he wins a nine figure settlement or else lose his job. So Ben dives head first but before long, his life is turned upside down. For one thing, he drops by Emily’s apartment to find her dead, apparently from a drug overdose. Instead of calling 911, thus putting his affair out in the open, he instead decides to leave. The second thing, there’s a man credited only as “The Accountant” (BYUNG-HUN LEE), with major health issues, attempting to intimidate Ben. This character, although intrigal to the so-called plot, only muddies the waters and his actions, and whom he’s working for are perplexing to say the least.
As I said before, Misconduct is an all around trashy, and poorly written, mystery-thriller with many shades of Presumed Innocent. The cast I suppose to their best with what they were given save for Pacino’s final scene which was indicative of his career in the last few years. Outside of that, Hopkins has some OK moments though it did appear he was phoning it in while Josh Duhamel proves that he’s not that good as a leading man, even with a bad script, he didn’t exactly shine in another Lionsgate direct-to-video schlock, Fire with Fire. The others, talented as they might be, don’t have that many standout scenes except for maybe Alice Eve. The film was helmed by Shintaro Shimosawa marking his directorial debut following a variety of writing and producing stints (“The Following” and co-producer of the two Grudge films) while the screenplay was “written” by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes whose previous credits included last year’s found footage horror-thriller, Hangman.
In the end, Misconduct was a missed opportunity. It may not be the worst film I’ve seen or even the most misusage of its cast (one could argue Ocean’s Twelve holds the crown there), but it’s certainly not very good and destined to air at 3 am on HBO or Showtime. This isn’t even worth a Netflix or Redbox rental. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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This release comes with a glossy, title-embossed slip cover. Inside is a code for the Digital HD copy. The Making of Misconduct (15:08; HD) – This is a behind-the-scenes featurette with your usual, and safe, interviews with members of the cast (Hopkins, Duhamel, Eve, Powell, Akerman, Stiles, Lee) and crew talking about the plot and characters. There’s nothing really in-depth here though to be fair, there’s not much depth to the movie either. Deleted Scenes (3:26; HD) – There’s nothing special here, just three scenes cut out I suppose to avoid a muddled plot, god forbid. Theatrical Trailer (2:18; HD) Previews – Extraction, Exposed, Arbitrage, Heist |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Lionsgate releases Misconduct onto Blu-ray presented in glorious 1080p high-definition and a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio. The transfer actually is quite pleasant to look at with sharp and well-defined detail throughout and although it’s not exactly the most brilliant in terms of colors, with some scene looking a tad orange (presumably by choice of the director and/or DP), it’s still vibrant enough and has a decent pop to it. |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track offers up crisp and clean dialogue levels and although this is not the most robust lossless track I’ve come across, it is more than serviceable coming to life typically with the soundtrack and score from Argentinean composer Federico Jusid. This is not the kind of track that will blow out your windows and the LFE channel doesn’t kick in all that often outside of the score, but it is effective enough. |
OVERALL – 2.25/5 |
| Overall, I’d say I was vastly disappointed with Misconduct considering the cast the filmmaker managed to gather but I’ve been reviewing too long to give my hopes up and the studio of late hasn’t had a the best of track records, not to mention the movie barely had a release date, but with the likes of Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins, even in the late stages of their careers, you’d think the script would’ve been better but instead it’s a trashy third-rate thriller with an absurd ending (two actually). The Blu-ray released through Lionsgate offers good video/audio transfers and while limited, the features aren’t half bad. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.
I truly enjoyed Misconduct. I found it creative with many twists and turns. There are many plot twists that I never saw coming. Pacino was typical Pacino, camping it up. Sir Anthony Hopkins was great and most sinister. I think this is really a fun movie and I suggest that you check it out for yourself. You might be very surprised at how good it is.
Thanks for review!!!
Glad you liked it Josh, but I did watch it (and reviewed it). Not a movie I’m going to watch again.