Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

I think I've seen enough films glamourising the life of drug dealers on a large scale. Yes, I understand it can be a harmless recreational activity... but for some families the effects of addiction and the consequences afterwards can be absolutely devastating. Not to mention, the illegal acts the users partake in to AFFORD this stuff. So seeing Rhys Ifans and his wife and three daughters have a tearful reunion towards the end of his well-deserved stint in prison (though, I think the movie disagrees) in the final reel did not cause me to shed a tear. Rather, it made me reflect on all the mothers and fathers that would never see their children again... as a result of this idiot's life choices. He gets to go home with his girls. Shame a lot of those who were foolish enough to make him a multi-millionaire aren't so lucky.Aside from the dubious moral ground this plot finds itself on, there are a multitude of other flaws too. Like: Ifans never visibly aging, even though the movie spans at least 30 years. Paper-thin characters, who are more comedy props than living, breathing individuals. Especially the females. Speaking of which, Chloe Sevigny's role... despite being billed second, she does NOTHING, and as a result, leaves no impression. The use of archive footage which Ifans & Co are inserted into... it occasionally works, but is more clumsy than anything. We're not talking Forrest Gump standard special effects here.The most serious problem of all here though, is that the life of this supposed 'multi national drug smuggler' is rather boring. The excerpts from his life we see here, from his time in Oxford as a student, to meeting the IRA and setting up his worldwide narcotics empire are handled in the most dull way possible and as a result fail to engage the viewer. Mr Nice as played by Ifans is not very likable in the first place, and surrounding him with a one-note supporting cast of potheads and inept police just compounds the issue that there's no-one to care about here.And when it gets all maudlin, as Ifans is 'turned in' by those he thought he could trust, We are presumably meant to feel sorry for this long haired loser. Not a chance. His last line proves he didn't learn a thing from his time inside, and his early release looks like a serious error. As did this entire production. Mr Nice? Mr ZZZ more like... 4/10

A common problem with biographical films about notorious con-men (or marijuana drug dealers) is whether to show them as sympathetic, or ruthless—as they usually are. The problem with "Mr. Nice" and Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans) is that there wasn't enough meaningful scenes showing us who Howard Marks was at all. For those like me, who didn't know who he was before the film, this is a really big problem.Rhys Ifans is very good at mumbling and speaking rather unintelligibly but making it humorous, entertaining, and somehow understandable. This would be a much more positive trait if the voice of his character wasn't supposed to be as important as it seemingly was. Although I still don't know who he was so I can't say if Howard Marks was an important voice to society or not.It was certainly more artistic and thoughtful than most marijuana movies are, but much less artistic and thoughtful than the best character studies. Again, this is a pretty big problem—if you're expecting more than just a marijuana movie, which I was. I wanted to be educated, while entertained, about this supposedly important person, but I was not.

Having watched this tonight i think i can offer a fair review , its a joke to indicate the film doesn't have grounding within the book , there just too alike for words , however the book contains long winded accounts of activity that are tedious and boring , thankfully these sections were omitted from the film , good news then ? well no , sadly also key points in Howard marks life are also not in the film , the result has sections that make no sense whatsoever to the layman , Howard appeared to move around without reason and know people without explanation , the consequences of others actions are also omitted leaving a disjointed and slightly sinister film , there is humour but its not of the lol sort , knowing the film was shot over just 2 months then i think it shows , Howard marks has led a life so rich and varied and yet it simply wasn't portrayed in this film to its fullest , it leaves you with an empty feeling in that the film felt like soup when it could so easily have been steak , Ifans could not have done a better job and the only lightweight in the cast would be Chloe sevigney who didn't have much to say and didn't display a passion in the role , over all the film IMO is worth of a 6.5/10

Impossible to review as a movie based so loosely on reality and truth that one feels that a child could have lived it. A shame - as one would love to believe that Howard Marks was some kind of Magician and on this poor representation one could only assume that he was and still is a man in constant psychosis of reality. A pioneer of nothing and a living off a story that is in his own mind. The addition of juxtaposed story threads with quite simply embarrassing pigeon-holed characters makes one weep and indeed takes away from the voice of the book. I would rather recommend a Disney movie as this, as is Howard's life; a nauseating talk-jockey, lazy and not-that-I-care believable journey of disappointment. No wonder he needs to smoke. The man and the voice deserved a whole lot better. A whole lot. The director has been directed and It is plain to see. Rhys Ifans is a wonderful actor mind you.