DirkH’s review published on Letterboxd:
A script with huge pacing issues, penned by the man who directed it as well prevent this from being an absolutely fantastic action film. What remains, however, is a film with flashes of brilliance stretched so thinly it loses any impact and negates most good things in it.
The first act is great. It establishes its characters wonderfully and uses the natural charm of its two leading men to great effect. Their banter feels real, their friendship genuine. So far so good, two characters worth investing in. The plot they strut around in isn't that original, telegraphing and foreshadowing enough to predict how things will play out. I didn't mind at first as I was enjoying the company.
The thing is, Ayer doesn't seem to know when to quit. He paces his film so poorly that there were points that I was ready to skip yet another conversation. What made the first part so strong turned into its weakness really fast, making the simplicity of the plot a bit of an eyesore and left me praying for the film to pick up some momentum from somewhere.
It does get that in the more than excellent finale. It's viceral and rather brutal and even though its a bit too morally correct, an area the film doesn't to play it safe in in my opinion, it is still a memorable sequence.
I was worried I'd be annoyed by the camera work, but I wasn't. It actually served a purpose and was an interesting blend between 'regular' shots and the 'found footage' shots. It added a certain kinetic quality to most of the action sequences that worked really well.
So in the end this film isn't a complete success because of its lack of focus and uneven pacing, but it is still an above average action film.