The film is messy as it juggles various plot threads. The larger problem is one that plagues any movie about fictional creative types: you have to sell their alleged genius. We have the in-movie audience laughing uproariously as if it was the greatest, funniest thing they'd ever seen in their lives. When to me, it was just some lame hacky vaudeville bullshit. Put less emphasis on how hilarious these guys are supposed to be, and kill the smuggling subplot, then I'd be on board. As it is... meh.

Not bad.

There's so much potential in the opening three scenes -- the boat, Las Vegas and the interrogation -- that the rest of the movie can't help being a disappointment. It's not just that it fails to live up to what it could have been, but Chelsom appears to be trying to make three films at once; the end result is a garbled mess that really doesn't do justice to Evans and Platt, who borders on the phenomenal but is let down time and time again by the chronically weak story.