Harsh Times Reviews

Wish I could give it four and a half!

Harsh Times is an excellent film. I went to see it mainly on the promise of Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez as plot information has been rather vague. During the first half an hour I was slightly unsure as, although very well acted, I did not think it was going to be possible to make me care about either of the characters. I was wrong! By the end I cared about both of them, despite their flaws which are displayed throughout the film. I think this shows the talent of both the actors and the director. The only thing that grated on me was the language used, especially by Bale, as it is very 'gangsta'! I realise that this was part of how the film worked, but it still got on my nerves and stopped it quite reaching 5 stars! Well worth watching, excellent all round.

Brutal Cinema

This film has a fair bit in common with Training Day, (written by the writer director of this) in that it pairs a seemingly lost cause 'bad man' with a driving buddy who is more sympathetic. Like Training Day it's also an urban road movie.

I loved it for its brilliant script which sounded real and convincing (I've never hung out in these 'hoods' so have no idea) and the quality of the acting was first class, especially Christian Bale.

A very violent film, both emotionally and physically.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Average at best. 6/10

Harsh Times is not at all a bad movie but in no way did this hit the spot as perhaps we had expected. The above preview pretty much tells you the entire story so not much back ground is needed in this review. Briefly, two friends, one of them a former Ranger, Jim (Bale) honourably discharged, is desperate to follow his dream by entering the LAPD whilst at the same green carding his Mexican fiancé. Sadly when this goes wrong traumas from the past seem to badly effect his decision making abilities, he and his spineless friend, Mike (Rodriguez) decide to hustle the gang ridden streets of down town LA, exactly as anybody desiring a life in law enforcement would. As the two get deeper into trouble Jim’s issues become more apparent and even an opportunity to sign up for Homeland Security can not halt this rollercoaster ride. Some of the ideas are potentially first rate and I thought Bale was convincing as the Ranger with issues however for me some of this was taken too far plus you are never really told anything specific of Jim’s past, why he was so screwed up? I recall one sentence and a few flash backs by way of character background. That combined with the frustration built up trying to follow the ‘Homey Codes’ took the edge off for us. Overall we enjoyed for the most part but did not really care for the characters as the above synopsis suggests that the viewer will do, that was a shame. If the synopsis appeals we would not put anyone off giving this film a whirl but overall this movie was above average at best. 6/10. Healthy 3 stars.

i prefered this to training day

This is not an action movie. It is much more real than that. However the story follows a couple of days in the life of two friends which gets more dramatic as the story progresses. The drama and the edge comes from the increasing unpredictability of Christian Bale's actions. You get drawn in like watching a car crash. However all the time you are hoping that they are going to get their act together.

This film did two things for me. Firstly it transported me to another scene very different from my own. It is quite a real film which sometimes comes across as a fly on the wall docu-drama. This is really testament to the acting of the two main characters. i didnt recognise Christian Bale for the first twenty minutes. That is how different he comes across.

The second virtue of this film is the tale of a friendship that really is quite tight. When you ignore your better judgment to back up and stand by your friend and homie.

worth a watch, great film, kept mre entertained and my huband

worth a watch, great film, kept mre entertained and my huband

Harsh Times

Dreadful!

Boring!

un-engrossing.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Hrash times indeed

I'll start by saying that I am a big Christian Bale fan, an absolutely fantastic and versatile actor. This film is no exception, his performance is mesmerising.

However the film itself is extremely depressing, bleak and slightly pointless.

Bale plays Jim, a soldier trying to find work in civilian life after being honourably discharged from the military. To put it bluntly, Jim is a psycho who drives round all day getting drunk, finding guns and drugs and freaking out at everything whilst leading his little sidekick buddy astray.

That's basically it with a subplot of Jim trying to get a job with Homeland Security whilst trying to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend who lives in Mexico.

The film doesn't really go anywhere and no real explanation is given for Jim's meltdown, unless we're expected to think that all soldiers lose the plot when leaving military life.

It's a hard film to watch because of the completely nihilistic way that Jim exists, filled with relatively random acts of brutal violence it really just left me feeling a little empty inside. There really wasn't enough character or background for me to feel any emotional response to what was going on.

Cold and violent and for hardcore Bale fans only i think.

yo dude

got bored with this one even though we like christian bale.........

Harsh Times Indeed!

This film got a lot of good reviews. Why and from who, I do not know.

Chirstian Bale was excellent in it, but the story was just boring, with a splattering of brains and guts.

How I sat through the entire one hour and forty minutes is beyond me!

CRAP

What a waste of time this movie is.