This terrifically cast, sleek, glossy and intricately plotted Ridley Scott thriller from a Cormac McCarthy script wasn't a success and yet it may be one of the best things Scott ever did. "The Counselor" of the title is Michael Fassbender, a lawyer moving in high circles that includes drugs baron Javier Bardem and his lady Cameron Diaz as well as a shady 'cowboy' played by Brad Pitt and his involvement with such characters leads him into situations he might otherwise not want to find himself in.

It's typical McCarthy, even if it's not front rank McCarthy, and maybe the tortuous plot proved too much for both critics and audiences but it's a movie that uses its showy cast , (that also inclues Penelope Cruz, Bruno Ganz, Rosie Perez, Edgar Ramirez and Rueben Blades),to excellent effect and thanks to Dariusz Wolski's cinematography it looks terrific. Best of all, it's a movie that takes familiar material and shakes it about in unconventional ways. In the acting stakes it's Pitt and Diaz who own the picture which certainly didn't deserve the critical thrashing it got at the time and is now ripe for reassessment.

I'm not sure what most people were expecting, but it's obvious the movie did not meet whatever that was. If you have so many big names in one movie, those expectations can get very heavy obviously. Still this movie is really good, just not on what some thought it promised them. I haven't seen the trailer yet, but I know those trailers can be deceiving as well as promoting something.

The movie has a very philosophical strain and can be watched a couple of times. There is also a sexual tone that some might find disturbing (especially the car window thing, you'll know when you watch it),but it's all about dominance. And it's about life choices and planting things that you will for better or worse reap ... not everyones cup of tea, but a very strong movie nevertheless.

THE COUNSELLOR is an odd film from director Ridley Scott. While his direction remains exemplary and is difficult to fault, the script from novelist Cormac McCarthy (THE ROAD) is very poor and difficult to fathom. I don't think it's a good idea for novelists to attempt to write such scripts, because novels are nothing like screenplays and such films sometimes come across feeling false and too wordy. That's the case here.

Although the plotting in this film isn't too convoluted, it's the dialogue that really drags this down and makes everything feel twice as long as it really takes. Everyone in here is some kind of moral philosopher, given to sitting down and spouting long treaties to the other characters. None of what they say is very interesting, and much of it is rather dull. Hollywood seems to have a real problem in making films about drug trafficking; like SAVAGES, this one misses the mark.

The problem lies with the characters; there are a lot of them, often played by popular actors, but none are good. Michael Fassbender's lead feels extraneous in the story and is one-dimensional throughout. Cameron Diaz is miscast and really struggling, and Penelope Cruz is there for the glamour alone. The only one who comes out of it with his head held high is Brad Pitt, who makes things feel as effortless as ever. The rest of the cast seem to show up to do a scene and then disappear again for good. This isn't what film-making is about.