So at first we don't like Ben Affleck and we like his wife. Then we like Ben Affleck and we dont like his wife, and his wife turns out to be a crazy evil suicidal lady. How do ya like them apples?!
The second half kinda falls apart a little to be honest. Some of the characterisations drastically change for no particular reason within the fiction, to fit the plot (I'm thinking his wife Amy (with her change from master manipulator to dumb mistake maker) and the detective lady (with her change from smart hard working cop to whom her superiors don't listen to useless cop) here, though there were probably others that I just forgot about).
I definitely didn't hate it though. It was good, but I don't think it was any better than just good, you know? The story was really busy, and on the whole it feels a lot like the sort of book that you'd see near the checkout area above the gum. A page turner.
A huge focus of the film is the media aspect of this sort of situation (oh, I haven't explained the plot have I? Ah well). There's a lot of reporters surrounding the house scenes, and there's a lot of emphasis on the importance of spin. Interestingly, this is all presented non satirically. It's not really critical of the whole media news thing, it's more just presented as a thing that exists. “This is how it is” says the movie. “Oh, okay” says us.
Despite all these things that you may take as negatives, the film has a great look, and a lot of excellent cinematography. The story felt original and I didn't see many of the twists coming. The acting was also pretty great throughout. Afleck did fine, and the wife (played by Rosamund Pike, who I've never heard of) was fantastic. Oh and Neil Patrick Harris was in it! He was weird.
Gone Girl: 52.1