Much more watchable than I had expected and getting a bad rap for being associated with Michael Bay (producer). Sure, there are some flaws (the poorly-developed bad guys SUCK) and it gets a bit cheesy, but put yourself in the shoes of the teen to which it is aimed. It is what it is. The cast is decent, with Alex Pettyfer proving he can brood, charm and fight with your typical action star, and Dianna Agron proving there is life after Glee. Underrated Timothy Olyphant appears as the protector/mentor with the predictable story arc. The film is clearly intended to be the beginning of a series, though I'd be shocked if this came to pass. This movie isn't exactly a "number two", but I doubt we'll see a "Number Five". A tighter script and better artistic design might have gotten it over the hump. Not the worst way to kill a couple of hours, but you'll be glad you didn't pay to see it.

A delightful surprise. Not at all what I had expected (not that I knew much). A film noir set amongst high school kids. The characters are familiar (hero, femme fatale, crime kingpin), though they look like they belong in a John Hughes film. Do not expect realism. This is definitely a stylized film and that is it's greatest strength. The dialogue is too witty by half, but that's ok. Some of it is a bit lost in delivery, but trying to catch the cadence of the dialogue only makes the audience pay more attention. Close your eyes for a moment and you'll be completely lost. This movie moves fast and doesn't wait for stragglers. The primarily flaw in the film is the stakes. Do we really care what happened to Emily? As much as Brendan seems to? Probably not, which undermines much of what follows. And, of course, the explanation is far more complicated than it needs to be - another trait of noir films that try to be too smart. Still, I appreciated this film for its style and fresh take on a familiar genre. Kudos for that. Joseph Gordon Levitt is perfectly cast. Worth a viewing.

Not everyone's cup of tea. It isn't horrible, but it can't possibly create a plausible world with plausible characters and an interesting plot in under 90 minutes There's just too much ground to cover, and so the product on screen is largely obvious, unoriginal and blunt. I haven't read the graphic novels on which it is based, but I can see and appreciate what they tried to do. It was just an impossible task. There isn't enough exposition to sell us on anything more than we know from seeing other similar films. And the influences are pretty in-your-face (Star Wars, Blade Runner, Resident Evil, and just about every vampire movie ever made). Throw in Paul Bettany with an atrocious accent (why?), Karl Urban as the cliche "Black Hat" (and his motivation is...what?) and Christopher Plummer in one of the all-time "phone-it-in" performances and you've got a dud instead of the intended franchise. For fans of the genre only.