This is why you should never carry expectations for a movie prior to watching it. Affleck both directed and starred in Argo, and has done the same in Live by Night (2016) – plus he received the sole screenwriting credit as well, but even as an experienced filmmaker, Affleck could not shine his trademark direction on such a bland script.
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The storyline is as generic as the cinematography. Based on critically-acclaimed Dennis Lehane’s Edgar Award-winning novel of the same name, this flick won’t be nominated for an Oscar anytime soon.
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The dialogues and character exchanges are unforgettable (though majority of the good talks would’ve been taken verbatim from the source material). Other things I liked about Live by Night include:
- Acting is top-notch by both the main and secondary cast members. Both Sienna Miller and Zoe Saldana did a lot with the little screen-space that they shared.
- Some fight scenes and chase sequences were brilliantly choreographed.
However, this venture is let down by its super-generic and predictable plot. It could’ve concluded in 90 minutes but we have an extra 35 minutes of what seems like extra footage, which I heard from people who’ve read the novel version, was done in order to mirror the ending of the book (which I’m sure is superior to this mediocre adaptation as Dehane is also the mastermind behind Shutter Island).
If Affleck decided to forego his directorial role in the next Batman movie, then it’s a wise decision, because WB already have made a massive commercial and critical loss with this one.
| Live by Night Rotten Tomatoes’ Score – Critics/Audience | Live by Night IMDb Rating | Literary Retreat Score |
| 35%/42% | 6.4/10 | 2 out of 4 |
What gangster movie from the same decade should I watch instead of Live by Night?
Want to catch a better 2010s era gangster movie? Then watch the underrated Gangster Squad (2013) instead of Live by Night (2016).
According to the critical consensus of Live by Night (2016) on Rotten Tomatoes:
Live by Night boasts Visual Style…
