Download State of Play movie

A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman's assistant falls in front of a subway - two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye, Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it's worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story. Written by The Massie Twins  Hide 

Plot Keywords: based-on-tv-series, investigative-reporter, murder, police-detective

100 Comments »

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How pitiful

Sex and politics make a very explosive mixture indeed. This is a well
made movie also but not only about that. But a well made movie is not
always a good movie. And this movie could be a good one indeed if it
had kept the same trend since the beginning I mean a movie about
political corruption and the facing and fighting of the privatization
of internal security in USA by a private corporation to win billions of
dollars with such operation. This could be even presented like it began
to be, mixed up with a thrilling murder story and the fight of a heroic
journalist to discover the true behind it in order to save his friend
the Congressman who presided over a commission charged precisely to
investigate the above mentioned foul business. Such ingredients would
make the story more attractive. But suddenly and unexpectedly the story
changes abruptly its direction and turns the movie into a mere crime
story just only passable. Pitiful indeed.

valadas from Caldas da Rainha, Portugal - 29 June 2009

Affleck versus Crowe (versus McAdams): seems to be like BEEP

what's this about Ben Affleck? where has he been? is he a total nobody?
it seems like he is. I can't remember one single title of a good movie
he's been in in the last ten years. what? do you say Ben Affleck isn't
that old? oh, yeah, right: that means he cannot act. big deal. he can't
act. it's not a secret. some actors earn their money with comedies.
that's away of living all right, but it isn't really groundbreaking.
no, if you want your name in history, you must be original when you act
in a movie. on the big no-list: comedies. they destroy your potential
acting qualities. so now here's the big surprise: this isn't a comedy
and Ben Affleck plays an important role in it. that's fantastic news!
what we can't ignore is that Russell Crowe is also present in the
movie. so Ben Affleck, who cannot act, joins a movie with Russell
Crowe, a great actor who's already in the top ten of the best actors
ever (okay, I'm joking off course, but Crowe really is good in all his
movies). Crowe and Affleck fight for our attention in almost every
scene, so no matter what character they play, it's like battle of the
giants. we know already Affleck will lose, but it's still cool to see
him act. it reminds me of Jay and Silent Bob. those movies aren't
quality, but funny. everyone should have seen them to make up their
minds about the comedy genre in general. I talk about this, because
State of Play is the All the President's Men for the youtube
generation. that says a lot: State of Play is almost perfect. so why
did they take Crowe as well as Affleck in this movie gem? maybe to see
who can act and who can't. the only problem with Crowe is: I like to
see him act, but after 20 minutes, I have seen it. I don't want to look
anymore. Crowe is a great actor, but he can only express one
personality. Affleck, however, isn't that good as actor, but he can use
every emotion he needs to convince us at the screen. McAdams walks
around to show us stereotypes: actresses will always walk around. I
think it's a shame, because women have the right to act as good as
actors. so why did Rachel act as if she's sitting on a sofa with a
drink in her hands, enjoying the movie itself? I'm a big fan of
McAdams, she's hot! but she doesn't act good in this picture. and hey,
that's not all: I told you this movie was good, right? well, the first
half is. the second half, I was thinking 'oh my god, how is it possible
I spent money on this? it takes away precious time of my life!' even
Crowe couldn't save this. Affleck does his best, really, but somehow
nothing seems to be able to save the movie. what have we learned? a
good beginning doesn't mean the movie BEEPs.

mrdonleone from belgium - 23 June 2009

A Here Nor There but Effective Story Telling !!!

Not the most original as some of us would call it. Nonetheless
extremely entertaining, especially for someone, who hasn't seen the BBC
series by the same name. Contemporary setting along with a stellar cast
led by Oscar Award Winners Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Oscar Award
Nominee Helen Mirren & a very capable support cast carry the not so
loophole proof screenplay, aptly. Crowe did what he does best. Sleep
walk through the role looking very convincing as a tenured journalist
for the fictitious daily "Washington Globe". Rachel McAdams looked the
part and did a fine job as well. It is not the first of it's kind
narration that primarily involves the aftermath of an event. What
stands out for this enterprise though is that, it is an extremely
cautious mix of tricks and turns, which neither gets too predictable
nor too surprising at any given moment. This could also be the very
reason why this movie may never attain any spectacular heights
(critical appreciation) or break any paths. Nevertheless, myself being
the classic rock fan that I am, lapped up every moment of the ending
credits with glee as CCR's "As Long as I can See The Light" played on.
Recommended for a week night viewing at a theater near You. I am
expecting it to do better when it airs in prime time television.
Overall : 7/10

Mayur Baruah from KL, Malaysia - 22 June 2009

Disappointing, though a few good moments

The thriller State Of Play is disappointing to me, but I give it 3
stars for 3 good moments. The first one is Jeff Daniels as Cal McAffrey
(Russell Crowe)'s resource, Rep. George Fergus. He is in one scene, and
he is great. The second is when the killer is chasing Cal. The third,
and best is Jason Bateman's one surprising scene as mean congressman
Dominic Foy. These are three great scenes. That said, the movie is way
too long and confusing. The movie follows Cal trying to figure out the
murder of Sonya Baker, in which Stephem Collins (Ben Affleck) might
have been a part of. As we get in deeper on the murder, there is really
nothing shocking or original. I felt myself knowing what was going to
happen. It might of helped if this was not based on a true story
everyone already knows about. It doesn't take its time to conclude
anything. They just try to build up suspense, but forget that they
can't just be thrilling to do that. The conclusion is more than just
obvious, it is stupid and forced. I didn't feel like I was watching a
movie, so much as just watching people covered in ink and guilt with
nothing to do. Very disappointing. When you can find Jason Bateman's
and Jeff Daniel's scenes on YouTube, watch those. But don't watch this
until then.

Jackpollins from United States - 21 June 2009

entertaining enough

The most impressive qualities of this film are the atmospherics and
fancy camera-work, a few of the performances and finally the layered
and complex nature of the characters. The story, adapted from a highly
regarded six-hour British TV miniseries about the investigation of a
sinister corporation that trains mercenaries and is plotting to take
over America's homeland security operations by stealth, is one of those
conspiracy thrillers that keeps you guessing the characters'
motivations. Following the plot twists requires concentration and
effort and from early on you are rooting for Russell Crowe as the
slovenly but principled newspaper reporter trying to get to the bottom
of a tangle of murders, one of which involves the mistress of an old
college friend (Ben Affleck) who is now a US Congressman.The depiction of a modern newspaper poised between the newsprint and
computer age is first rate. The set designers must have had a field
day. A similar replication of a busy newspaper's headquarters was also
done brilliantly 33 years earlier in All the President's Men. Another
parallel to that earlier film: A suspenseful scene takes place in a
garage at night. A nod to His Girl Friday is included with the
introduction of a female reporter (Rachel McAdams) who struggles with
Crowe over coverage of the developing story.Crowe is perfect – not one false moment ever. Ditto McAdams. Affleck
has less screen time but is convincing as the congressman. Jason
Bateman and Michael Berresse dominate their scenes as a corrupt PR man
and a demented ex-soldier, respectively.

mukava991 from United States - 18 June 2009

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