News of the World is the latest film from Paul Greengrass lead by the legendary Tom Hanks. This movie is about a former Civil War Captain; tasked with bringing a young girl back home after a kidnapping. Tom Hanks is delightful. His innate likability endears us to his character very quickly, despite not knowing much about him. Helena Zengel does a good job acting against Hanks though they do not have much to work with until the second act. Her dynamic with Hanks is easily the biggest strength of the film. Paul Greengrass brings his signature shaky-cam style here with mixed results. During action or suspense sequences, it adds to the tone in the best ways. However, during the films' many slower moments the erratic camera movement is distracting far too often. The cinematography can be beautiful though due to the filming style, it can also be quite ugly. The script based on the novel by Paulette Jiles is compelling overall despite dragging on too long in the first act. My favorite part of this movie is the score by James Newton Howard. It felt like a strong mix of traditional western music with the newer style that always drew me to it. Overall, News of the World is a good film with some fantastic elements though the first act flaws and some poor directing choices hold this back from greatness.
7/10
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