Out of the Furnace

A bunch of well-known actors in a surprisingly predictable story that - while you watch it in the hope that it eventually happens - does not deliver any surprises. The emotions of the desire for revenge work in the viewer, however, so it’s definitely not boring. I would just expect a broader story/range of thought from the whole thing. And somehow I can’t see Harrelson as the ultimate bad guy, even though he’s trying hard to act like one. For me, he will always be a stoned, chilled-out bohemian. (24/12/2018)

A drama about tightening a bolt till the nut sheers off. Bale is great as usual, but the real McCoy here is Woody Harrelson who really savors his rotten-to-the-core role. A young Affleck is still the same old repulsive loon, so he’s not missed much when he’s gone. Cooper easily manages a realistic atmosphere and you can almost smell the dirt of this industrial Hicksville. The story of vengeance is maybe overshadowed a little too much by the transformation of a good guy into a revengeful (yet flaccid and erring) “asshole". And that slowly disappearing working class of America mirrors our situation too. We all need money. (15/02/2014)

A pure genre film where it doesn't make any sense to worry about the script, it's ordinary. But the way this story is executed deserves praise. The raw industrial street feeling of an American small town is impossible to miss. Excellent camera work, hard-hitting and uncompromising action. A bunch of twisted scenes (like the opening one) and brilliant actors – especially Woody Harrelson, Christian Bale, and once again the minimalistic Zoe Saldana, who’s made for these roles. This is how it could look in reality, Scott Cooper has an incredible sense of authenticity. (29/06/2014)

A proper old-school thriller that for the first hour introduces the main characters in their tormented world with no prospect of a better tomorrow, and the rest of the footage shows where the hopelessness of the environment and the desperate actions of ordinary people can drive them. The cast is without exception fantastic (especially the incredibly sleazy Harrelson and, for a few minutes, the minimalist Saldana) and the length of each shot and dialogue exactly matches the precisely constructed system of the whole work, which does not play on the effect or the complexity of the plot. I regret the lack of space for Whitaker and the unfinished ending, but otherwise this is a rather luxurious and raw affair. (11/08/2017)

A overly stretched film about how one person seeks revenge for their brother. The film tries to introduce the characters, but it takes a whole hour, followed by a crucial event that gives meaning to the rest of the film. However, not everyone is Sam Peckinpah to truly make sense of the second part. Two hours about a film that actually has nothing to say. Revenge is an interesting theme, but in this case, it proves to be completely empty, despite the presence of excellent actors. (06/02/2014)