I had no idea what to expect going into this movie, and the beginning started off with a bang. A lot of them, very loud, very violent gunshots. From there the movie slowed down, showing us two sides of the same coin - the bank robbers, and the law enforcement tasked with stopping them. This movie was hard for me to rate, as I would give the beginning and middle parts a -4, but the third act was a solid 9 for me.
This movie is slooow. It focuses on characters I do not care about and actively dislike. Gerard Butler's character was a complete a-hole and I could not root for him in any way. They showed parts of his life that I can only assume weren't meant to humanize him and make me sympathize with him, but I just found myself rolling my eyes. We were alone in the theater for this one so at a few points I expressed my frustration out loud - when will this be over? It was agonizing.
But then, oh but then act three happened. I don't want to give anything away but suffice to say I loved it. I actually want to watch this movie again with the end in mind. (Sort of like how I re-watched all of Gossip Girl knowing who Gossip Girl is and it changed the way I saw the stories). While the first two thirds of the movie is hard to sit through I recommend you stick it out because it. is. worth it!