I say that I am a huge fan of the director as I have seen all of his finest work in the theater starting with Three Kings and ending with Silver Linings Playbook. It was quite the run of about thirteen glorious years or so. Then, I realized I haven't seen anything new from this director in a decade, give or take.

The trailers for this movie early on got me salivating. The unbelievable, incredible ensemble cast. Wow. Is that Mike Myers?

Some of the regs. Some newbies. Looks like a fun romp. I'm in.

The reviews early on have been pretty dissuading, but I've never let that stop me.

If I'm going to see something, I'm going to see something.

And I'm glad I did. I'm glad I saw this movie. The bad reviews almost talked me out of it, but in many ways it also made me more curious to check it out.

This movie has its flaws for certain. It is far from perfect.

To start with, what almost repelled me more than the bad reviews was the run time.

Why do all new releases these days have to clock in at a minimum of two-plus hours?

Why?

Can't a movie, even one such as this about a heady conspiracy in early 20th Century America still be trimmed to an hour and a half?

I'm sick of these long, bloated, bladder-bursting movies!

Another issue with this film, is though it looks good. Great sets and wardrobe. The movie looks too new to me. I guess that's digital? Like, everyone and everything looks great, but it all looks too crisp and too clean to be the early 1900's.

The performances are all solid. The direction is all well-executed.

It just doesn't hit a home run.

And with all these amazing heavy hitters, it should be just that with every at bat.

This is like sitting down to an amazing banquet of food and it all looks and smells amazing but when you bite into it, it's not. It's edible. It'll fill you up but it's not one of the best or most memorable meals you've ever had.

And just the same here, you won't be going back for seconds. I recommend dining in, because if you get this movie as takeout or streaming, you'll never finish it, or you'll be tempted to move on to other projects or start looking at your phone.

It's a good historical conspiracy.

It's not great.