I love the old detective noir films. And this movie does not skimp on the noir. However, it does greatly skimp on plot.

Pretty much, I'm sure the writer has read a large number of mystery novels. Conversely, the writer could not write a mystery novel of comparable value.

This movie was neither clever nor intelligent. Granted, it was entertaining and fun, but it truly lacked anything but noir.

There wasn't a single character introduced, or an element, or a"clue" that I didn't understand the significance of at the moment. I kept waiting for a clever plot twist, or a mind blowing reveal, but those things never occur. in the end, I pretty much have things figured out as I had figured they would be figured out from the very beginning. I found myself growing impatient for the reveal because I just wanted to leave. I already knew how it ended.

That being said, at least there was a general attempt at a clever movie. It wasn't a rewrite of a former, more successful mystery movie (though it could be argued that it was a composite of every former, successful mystery movie). My time wasn't wasted, but neither was it well spent.