The advance buzz on Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor” could hardly have been less encouraging. For a film from a major director — written by Cormac McCarthy, no less — with a dream cast including Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, Penélope Cruz and Brad Pitt, the fact that it was only shown to critics days before its release seemed to spell disaster. As it is, it seems Fox really wanted to prevent word of the thriller’s supposedly nihilistic bleakness from spreading too far; the one thing the critics do agree on is that it’s not a crowdpleaser.
Other than that, reviews are all over the map: many have excoriated it, but Manohla Dargis is chief among its vocal champions. Drew McWeeny is somewhere in the middle; I haven’t had an opportunity to see it yet. So, over to you: it’s pretty obvious this is no awards contender, but is the movie itself a misfire or not? Vote in the poll below, and share your thoughts in the comments.