I think I'll always say this when I watch a movie that he is in, but I do love me some Aaron Paul. If you know me then you know that Breaking Bad is my favorite television series of all time and one of the best shows, honestly, that I've ever seen. That might not be saying much considering I don't keep up with many shows as it is, but the high quality of writing (that only got better with each season) and acting is gonna be hard to top and I really do mean that. Aaron Paul, who played one of the leads, is really the heart and soul of that show. Without him and his incredible performance, the show would not have been as good. And that has transitioned into my seeking out any movies I can where, I believe, he's at least given a chance to showcase his talents in a feature-length film. Realistically speaking, I may have ended up watching this movie at one point or another, but I gave it a shot sooner because of Aaron. And, whatever issues I may have had with the movie, one thing is certain, Aaron does turn in a really strong and sympathetic performance. I just wish the movie around him would have been a little better than it actually was. Zack Whedon, coming from a family of writers including his brothers Joss and Jed, certainly has a illustrious family pedigree. And, honestly, this is the only thing I've ever seen that has Zack's fingerprints all over it. He's done some writing for television series that I have not seen, so I don't know what his style is as a writer, at least yet. And you don't really even get a sense of what type of writer he is even after having watched this movie. Don't get me wrong, as far as as dialogue is, Zack is really good. He's good at writing characters and this film is proof of that. David is a character that's easy to relate to. He's on the search for the women he was absolutely and madly in love with. While on that search he finds himself deep into a web of deceit and corruption that goes up to some important people in the government. Yet, even as he finds out more incriminating shit, his goal remains the same. And that is to find his girlfriend, who is obviously not be the person he believed her to be. The problem I have with the films are mostly related to its tone. There's just something about the tone that I simply could not get into. The film jumps back and forth, mixing David's present search for Claire (the girlfriend) with some of his memories of her. And I liked that, it gives the narrative some dynamism. Not to mention the fact that it helps establish how much Claire actually means to David that he'd actually put his own life at risk to find her and be with her again. I don't think the movie does this as effectively as possible, but it is fairly effective all things considered. But there's something about how the narrative plays out, particularly once David starts getting closer to finding the truth about Claire and where he is, where it just felt like this movie should have had a more comedic touch. The fact of the matter is that this movie took itself way too seriously for how the plot played out. There's this scene where David, played the damsel in distress no less, is saved by Claire. Before this reveal, though, you only get to see quick flashes of the person. You're not able to make out who the person is. And, I don't know why, but to me that felt like something out of a comedy movie. Like out of Central Intelligence or something like that. There are definitely some lighter moments, some of the flashbacks have some funny moments in them. Not like outright comedic moments, but it's more 'cute couple' stuff. But that's not what this story needed, this movie needed more comedy, even if it was deadpan or subtle. Another thing is the fact that I found the deeper conspiracy stuff to be a little difficult to get into. It's not that it's confusing, it's just that it's uninviting and you don't particularly care about it one way or another. It's all there to give David, and later Claire, more obstacles to overcome. That was a mistake, because if you're gonna bring in all these elements from the government to eastern-European mobsters, then at least bring them in with a more compelling angle. But, for the most part, the villains are hardly ever seen. They are present, for sure, but they take a backseat. And I get the point of this, again, the movie wanted to focus on David's journey to find Claire again after she disappeared. I just didn't like how all the other outside elements were mixed in with David's search. And I don't think this builds all that well to the film's climax, which is a bit obvious. It's a movie that's just there, for the most part, and then it kicks it into high gear for the last five minutes. That's not really enough to get you pumped or into what is, very obviously, gonna be a violent end for David and Claire. You don't get to see this, of course, the film's ending is far more optimistic, but you know what's really gonna happen to them. It's a shame too, cause I think the movie has all the ingredients to be good, but those ingredients aren't used in the proper context in order to make a good movie. It's almost there, but it just falls short. The acting is really good. Aaron Paul and Annabelle Wallis are absolutely great together. So that's, to me, what carries the movie for the long haul. Don't expect to be intrigued by its narrative, up to a certain point, but you cannot complain about the acting in the slightest. With that said, this is a decent movie at best. I can't recommend it, but the acting is very good. Watch at your own risk.