mwatt89

You cannot dislike this movie. I know that's a huge statement to make, but honestly, just watch it.

A spiritual successor to the cult Dazed & Confused, It follows a group of college baseball players as they navigate the first few days before classes start in 1980. Same as Llewlyn Davis, the criticism that it did receive is due to audiences feeling that nothing really happened and I will reiterate, that is usually the way of the world.

It focuses on the relationships between a band of misfits and morons that are thrown together in a 'frat' house, some experienced, some inexperienced. The film's biggest draw is that a lot of these guys are just normal kids who want to have some fun, there are no hidden meanings and that's the way Richard Linklater wants it.

Underneath it all is an incredibly sweet romance story & some very funny performances by some of the lead actors.

There was a time when Tom Hardy wasn't that famous. I know right, I can't even imagine anymore, but it's true. At the turn of the last century, he had a starring turn in Bronson to his name & a brief role in Rock'N'Rolla before the mightly Christopher Nolan cast him in one of the lead roles in his epic, sprawling masterpiece Inception.

He then went on a run of excellent performances including Locke, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Lawless and of course The Dark Knight Rises and in amongst those was Warrior.

The story of a broken home and sibling love/rivalry/respect with that magical mix of emotion and battle that most combat sports films don't manage to hit. By the time you get to the final fight, you really are at the edge of your seat and it's exhausting.

Amongst my circles, this is at cult-levels of hype.

I used to watch Signs on a loop when I was younger & I'm one of those people who has always thought that M. Night can be a top director if he really put his mind to it, hence my disappointment whenever he releases a godawful movie (see; After Earth, The Visit, Lady In The Water, The Last Airbender) which seems to happen a lot.

So my expectations when I heard about Split were quite low, despite McAvoy's involvement, who I've always seen as one of the best actors in the business.

The pace of the film, combined with McAvoy's scintillating performance as a man diagnosed with a very rare split-personality disorder & the culmination of both his and Casey's stories pay off and give you a truly satisfying ending.