The Order

The Order is about Bob Matthews and his group referenced in the title that is on a small-town white power crusade. I was interested to see this movie because of the great cast and interesting twist including a few bank robberies. While it is super beautiful to look at and the main cast (Jude Law & Nicholas Hoult) do great, it didn't leave much of an impact on me. However, it was a fun time seeing it on the big screen.

The positives: The casting is great and the idaho landscape makes for beautiful shots. I really liked the exciting bank robbing parts as well as well as a being a grizzled detective drama. Bob Matthews is a interesting but vile character who has a weird personality of being a "family-man" and friendly but also blowing up p*rn theatres and killing innocents. I thought he was the best character in the movie, however the rest of the character's are pretty much one-note. I will get to that in the negatives, I also liked the score as well with it being very melodic but brooding at times (not your average detective drama score). The plot overall is fascinating and can be thrilling at times with well done robberies, chases, and some emotional moments.

Negatives: Like I said the characters besides Bob Matthews are pretty one note. I liked Jude law as a detective but he really dosen't do much except be the veteran grizzled detective with a young naive partner. The movie dosen't have the story structure to really make you care all that much about anyone. Sometimes scenes would bounce from one to another just to get to the next thrilling moments (which were solid). Also some dumb moments like a multiple moments where characters risk their lives in obvious situations where the cards are stacked against them and they don't need too.

All in all I would recommend if you wanna watch a pretty alright detective drama with some beautiful shots. I do not dislike the movie but its more of a vehicle for this great cast to handle a interesting story rather than interesting characters.

This movie has an interesting premise and the subject matter is engaging but it all feels a bit underwhelming. If the film tries to create a sense of fear from the "bad guys," it fails: I don't know if it's the script, the way they're presented, or even the casting choices, but as it stands, they never seem like a believable threat to a country of that scale, making the stakes feel low. In the end, while there was undoubtedly an intention to link it to recent events and make it a "necessary film", it falls a bit flat.

The performances are often excellent, though I feel that Jude Law (sometimes) and Jurnee Smollett (all the time) overplay their roles quite a bit. To be fair with them, it definitely doesn't help that we're given very little to understand who the protagonists really are or why they behave the way they do. I'm sure in a book, all of that would have been covered, but as a movie, it lacks psychological depth and ends up feeling superficial.

That said, the outdoor cinematography is beautiful, and despite his grunts and weird faces, I did enjoy seeing Jude Law back on screen.

The Order was a pretty average film that didn't quite live up to the weight of its subject matter. With such a serious and intense real-life inspiration, I expected a much more gripping, emotional, and thought-provoking story. Unfortunately, what we got was something that felt rushed in places and drawn out in others, with pacing that struggled to find consistency. The characters were underdeveloped and lacked emotional depth, making it hard to feel invested in their journey or motivations. Even the antagonist felt flat, which took away from the tension the film tried to build.

There were a few well-executed scenes-moments where the direction and cinematography showed real promise-but they were too few and far between. The tone also seemed confused at times, shifting awkwardly between thriller and drama without fully committing to either. It's the kind of movie that had all the pieces but couldn't quite put them together in a compelling way. Not terrible by any means, just very forgettable. I wouldn't warn people against watching it, but I wouldn't recommend it either.

I would say the movie is above average, but it's not a masterpiece

Jude Law is really good in his role as this weary and seasoned FBI agent. I like the supporting cast members. I think Nicholas Hault actually looks a lot like Bob Matthews (based on his picture, which I saw on Wiki), and the young sheriff who works with Jude Law is good too. The movie's scenery is gorgeous, with the forests, mountains, and lake. I like the score too. There is an overall dark and gritty vibe throughout the film

The movie doesn't reach greatness because of the plot and predictability. I know that the events are based on a true story, so I get that the plot was limited since they had to follow the events that really occurred (note: I had never heard of Bob Matthews or the Turner diaries until I watched this movie). But they telegraphed some events, such as one character's death, way too obviously. I also feel that the film could've given more about the villain's motivations other than "they're evil racist white men." The movie early on shows a divide between Bob Matthews group and another white supremacist group: the latter believes that the right way to push white supremacy is through legal means, such as getting white supremacists elected to office. I feel this plot thread could have been explored more. The police scenes include some cliches too

Lastly - there was no need to insert politics at the very end, with a reference to January 6th, 2021.

Another dark piece of history. I never knew of this story, so i was fascinated the whole time. I'd love to do a deeper dive into it. The feel to this movie was great! I felt like i was in a time machine. The actors were absolutely amazing, especially Jude Law! His character was absolutely intense and something you love to see on the big screen. It was him alone that made this movie as enjoyable as it was. The tense feelings this movie gave you as the plot slowly shows itself. It honestly feels like this same thing could happen today but you'd hope we would be better at recognizing it. I highly suggest this for everyone to see!

Saw in AMC theater 12-14-2024.