Picked this one because someone recommended it and really, at this point, desperate for stuff to watch. Roommate is very picky but did not veto. I spent the first hour counting the tropes and predicting the next line of dialog, with a pretty good average. You always know what’s coming next in this kind of movie. The men have something to prove in every scene. They’re mavericks, they don’t take orders, do things their way, blah blah blah. We’d all be better off if somebody could figure out how to make a good movie about men who play by the rules. But that’s not really the American image. Giggled at Matt Damon’s accent, howled at Christian Bales’s. For a while all I could do was watch them make the accents and be pleased with themselves because they nailed it. The smugness of celebrity. The actress playing Bales’s wife was great because I had never seen her before, mostly. She had nothing to do but wifey stuff except for the wild driving scene which was her Moment. Everything was stock and cardboard. Nevertheless I finally slid into the story when the evil corporate type did what evil corporate types always do. My reaction was so predictable. But it was pleasant enough. Once the story kicked in, the acting no longer appeared so thin. Nice to watch Ray McKinnon but how couldn’t somebody figure out how to do a different turn with the wise old redneck? Roommate said, I wish that guy (Damon) would stop chewing gum so hard. Her only comment. Would not give it any stars. Roommate played Hay Day while she watched, and I thought about what to do with the book I’m working on, and the movie did what it did, and it ended with some tears, of course, and a heartwarming boy on a bicycle. We have now made so many movies (as a people; I haven’t made any myself) that they all recycle the same old stuff because there’s no choice. Especially this kind of movie, which depends on famous faces to carry it. Famous faces are so tired. The only way this movie could have been more mediocre was if Tom Cruise had played the race driver, which was the plan. This movie belongs to the category Wall of White Men Who Do It All. Unmake this film if possible, and the world will be less crappy.