The Machinist : Am I the only one….

Am I the only one….

Am I the only one who thought this movie was just ok? All the reviews on here sounded so good that I was expecting to be blown away by this film. But I wasn't. I appreciated all the symbolism and the plot twist but I wasn't all that impressed with the movie as a whole. I was kind of bored actually. So I guess i'm just wondering if I missed something? Or is this movie just not for everyone?

Re: Am I the only one….

I'm with you. I wanted to see this film for a really long time, finally got to see it a few weeks ago, and, while I think it is a good movie... that's just it - it's just good, not great. Like you, I was not blown away - for me, it was very predictable.

Re: Am I the only one….

No, I did not like it at all! I had high expectations as well.

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I didn't have high expectations. So, maybe that is the key to watching this movie.

I thought the ending was good though. I am glad I watched the whole movie.

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Re: Am I the only one….

I agree. I gave it a 4/10. The only thing that saves this movie, is the brilliant acting by Bale.

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Same here. I was expecting it to be something magical. It was pretty decent but nothing overly special.

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"Phones were built by trolls" - Charlie Sheen

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Re: Am I the only one….

True, true. I love that whole aspect of his mental disorder, but I dunno, the movie as a whole just didn't click quite right...Still good movie, but nothing spectacular..

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S you in your A's Don't wear a C and J all over your B's

Re: Am I the only one….

Disagree with you guys.This movie stayed with me for weeks afterwards,the story was well written and put together,the directing was superb and Christian Bale just brought the character to life and had me feeling for him all the way through.Definately one of the best movies I have ever seen

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Yeah I agree. I can understand that it was well acted, but it was just so slow and it really didn't amaze me or anything. It was just alright. I don't regret watching it, but I don't feel like I would have particularly missed out if I hadn't watched it.

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I do not agree. I also, after long time, finally watched this movie last night, quite enjoyed an it will stay with me for long. This film is much more than just okay. Even if you have high expectations, you shouldn't be disappoited i believe, and of course it is a low-budget movie. Beside C.Bale that acted superbly, it is the plot-development that make this film great. All signs, camera-works and smart dialogs worked well. Perhaps, the idea of the movie is not unique and new, however the main character has been created quite unique. The Machnist is not as good as Memento or Fight Club, but still great psychological drama with twisted plot.

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Re: Am I the only one….

after watching this ill never watch only movies based on high scores as this dull boring for me deserved no more than 6

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I didn't enjoy it that much either, though I appreciated the craft of the movie and the excellent acting by Bale.... but that doesn't mean that the people who gave it a high rating are wrong, just that they got more out of it than I did.

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I thought it was just okay, too. Like, it was good, but it just wasn't anything really special to me.

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I hate those films with constructed psychological thinking. Think it's so unreal and thought out. All created symbolism for which I don't sign. No way that's life as it is. So you're watching a fairy someone's cooked for you. Don't buy it. I prefer to stick to my own rules and signals. Which doesn't criticize the acting of Bale, by the way; wouldn't dare to deny that.

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I think it's pretty damn good, but I've certainly seen better movies.

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It was just "ok". The directing is REALLY good, and that helped, but the movie was very predictable. It's not a bad movie, it's just too mainstream. Except for the main character, there was nothing I'd never seen before, and the twist was just very predictable and unoriginal. I even thought, in the middle of the movie, that something very awesome was going to happen in the end and change everything, including that overused twist, but it just didn't...

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I liked this better than fight club. I was waiting to criticize it for its unrealistic portrayal of machine workers but they did a good job with it. The whole manufacturing soap thing in fight club, I don't know. I like that Bale really had me buying into his blue collar worker role with a twist. It made for interesting viewing.

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I thought it was a bit like a *beep* version of fight club, all be it, way too predictable and boring. Saying that though I don't think its that bad and would probably give it a 5.5/10

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That was my exact thought through out this movie. The similarities are just too glaring. There was a scene with a close up of Bale's face and I almost mistook him for Edward Norton. That plus the disappointingly predictable ending made me really dislike this movie.

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When I saw it the first time I hadn't heard of it before. I just got it on Netflix because the description sounded interesting. I loved it.

But I have seen plenty of movies in the past that got amazing reviews, everyone said was awesome and I walked away thinking....meh, it was OK.

I think a lot of it has to do with expectations. Everyone tells you it's the greatest movie ever, even if it's a very good movie you'll probably walk away a little disappointed since no matter how good it is, it won't live up to what you think it should have been. And this isn't just movies. Same goes for restaurants, music, you name it.

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Why work when you can vote Democrat instead.

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The way people are talking about this movie is how i feel about memento. I loved this one, for me its all about the atmosphere and the view of the world that the director creates. Never have been a fan of any of Christopher Nolan's work, not even the Batman movies.

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I personally liked this movie quite a bit, though I can see why some would feel underwhelmed by the plot. It is fairly obvious to the viewer that Ivan is going to turn out to be a product of Trevor's psyche, but the symbolism and allusions to other works really did impress me. Particularly, I enjoyed the religious symbolism of the choice between the left-hand versus right-hand paths as a choice between perdition and redemption, which we see not only early on during the amusement park ride, but also at the very end when we see Trevor's choice between the airport and downtown. I also enjoyed the allusions to the works of Dostoevsky. We see Trevor reading a copy of The Idiot in the beginning and the entire plot is surely at least partially inspired by Crime and Punishment. My favorite thing about this movie though is the way that it satisfies certain expectations of the audience while completely defying others. Yes, we all see it coming that Ivan is imaginary, but the better twist in my opinion is the way in which the movie makes the viewer believe that he is watching an exploration of paranoia, when in reality, what we are watching is an exploration of guilt. That being said, certain parts were a little clumsy. The massive "ESCAPE" sign in the airport was just unnecessary (obviously Trevor uses the airport cafe as a place of escape and the airport in general represents his temptation to really escape; we don't need it rammed down our gullets), and the fact that an emaciated, year-long insomniac was able to outrun two police officers after being hit by a car just seemed silly.

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I agree. It was a good movie. Could've been great. The atmosphere was great. Bale was great. But the direction of the story and some bad takes took me out of the film.

I think the "fault" lies with the director on this one. He seemed to have relied solely on the typical things as color, music, obvious symbolism in the film etc. It lacked a certain pace, a natural flow to the story and the emotional drive.

I would compare this to the film "Stay" with Ryan Gosling. "Stay" had a familiar story as well. It was a weird film, but it works so beautifully, and that is because of the director. That film works because of the director keeping all the pieces together and then making a great sum of its all diferent weird parts.

Re: Am I the only one….

initially, I think people thought or assumed this movie was some crazy/murder thriller... when in fact it was just a sick man who had yet to deal w/ his past & current state of reality.

I liked it. thought it was clever. acting was superb.

also, I think most people prob saw this movie post batman. in doing so, we come to think of bale as a big blockbuster actor.
whereas this movie was very under-the-radar, low budget. seemingly something he did as a pet project.

I just think when most people see him in grand movies such as reign of fire, batman, psycho, or terminator, etc... it leaves this impression on us that when we see him in something where he is not some larger than life/ physically imposing character... its a little shock to our system.

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also, I think most people prob saw this movie post batman. in doing so, we come to think of bale as a big blockbuster actor.
whereas this movie was very under-the-radar, low budget. seemingly something he did as a pet project.


Batman totally derailed Christian Bale's career. Post Batman he's had 2 good roles in The Fighter and American Hustle. At one point he was one of the most intriguing and dynamic actors in the business. I miss that time period from 2000-2005 where Bale was quickly on his way to becoming one of the best actors of all time and then he had to take on a role that was so beneath his talents and abilities. Now everyone sees him as the guy that played Batman and yelled at some guy on the set of a Terminator movie. What a damn shame...

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I agree... I never liked him as batman. didn't fit the part. I never believed his struggle. he can do some action, but it can't be cartoony like batman & terminator. it would have to be more life-like.

Re: Am I the only one….

The Big Short was AWESOME!

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the first time i saw it i was in the right mood. being in the right mood and setting is important for any movie. i was alone, it was night, i was relaxed, my mind was waiting to get lost in some relaxingly boring suspense hah! and it tripped me out and made me wonder what was going on.

the second time i watched it i was surprised i liked it so much.

mood/atmosphere are important for a movie
1st, 2nd, or 3rd time watching it is important as well (for instance i love comedies with will farrel, and i like the post-ace ventura/the mask jim carrey comedies, but i always think they're not that funny the 1st time i watch them. then they just get funnier. like with "the other guys". and some movies i love the first time, hate the 2nd hah!)

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Agree sir!
the "plot-twist" is not hard to understand, if anyone watched Fight Club before watching this movie, then, the surprise doesn't work at all.

Re: Am I the only one….


Agree sir!
the "plot-twist" is not hard to understand, if anyone watched Fight Club before watching this movie, then, the surprise doesn't work at all.


What you and most detractors of this movie don't get is that the movie doesn't at all hinge on the plot-twist despite the DVD cover mentioning it being similar to Fight Club. The plot-twist is a minor part of the story. Stupid marketing hurt the perception and expectations of this movie.

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If I remember correctly it's a Spanish film, but with American actors so maybe it just has more of a European feel to it ....

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Well I'm a big fan of Polanki's 'Apartment Trilogy' especially The Tenant of which this closely resembled so I loved it. In fact it almost could have been made by Polanski and could actually be a fourth installment.

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I personally found it boring and predictable.

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When I first saw the film, I said "Ehh... It's alright. 3 out of 5 stars."

But for a while, I've been thinking about all the elements of the film, everything that I missed, and realized how much it warranted a second viewing.

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It's definitely not for everyone. One long, slow, dark trip into one man's self-induced, guilt-ridden, wide-awake nightmare. If it wasn't for all the mystery around what's real and what's Trevor's delusion, the plot would be paper thin. But, like I said in another comment, this particular trip is not about the destination, but the journey. And the key is Bale's performance. Understanding his character in full is the only way to fully appreciate this film, and if you can sympathize with Trevor Reznik, even though you know by the end that he did something horrible, you might just love this film after a couple more viewings. As long as you don't put this on for entertainment, because it's definitely not a thoroughly enjoyable film. I wouldn't blame you if you said you still didn't like it after watching it again.

Re: Am I the only one….

Yes, the only one in the world :P

Repeating viewings have made me think less highly of this film, although I was very impressed with it the first time I saw it (went in without any preconceived notions). It's still a good movie nonetheless.


Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

Re: Am I the only one….

It's the worst movie ever produced
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