Sean Patrick

I just re-watched this movie for the second time, the first time I watched was last year during quarantine. After this second viewing, I decided to check out reviews and was kinda surprised that so many people gave this such a bad rating. I will agree with the idea that this movie is somewhat raw in the sense of the filming style, the yelling/cursing, the musical score and the sheer craziness that does occur constantly. This movie attempts to depict how it must feel for the viewer to be thrust into Howards wild life and it accomplishes that. I have gambled in the past, never to the extent shown in the movie but enough to relate to the high of the gamble, Howard can't seem to get enough of it. This movie captures that essence and the lure of that lifestyle for people like Howard. I also cannot disagree with some 1 star reviewers who mention that the dialogue could be improved and that most characters have little to no redeeming qualities. But for me, I find it a very entertaining movie, where you are waiting to see if Howard will somehow fix the mayhem in his life, or it will ultimately lead to his demise.

Barely focused on the actual characters and more focused on political themes such is the case for most movies in 2021. It's a tell tale sign when someone who has watched the series 3 times in full is texting halfway through the movie. Characters mostly feel like cheap knock-offs of the characters themselves, almost like a mockery of them in some cases. Acting overall not as strong as the series nor is the standout writing the series was known for. Would not recommend but for long time fans of the series, it's one of those you kinda gotta watch to see for yourself.