Pros- You could argue that Kate Bosworth jogging braless is a pro. You could also say that James Marsden playing a nerdy intellect is also a pro, as it isn't a role I've seen him play in other films.
Outside of the main characters, I did like that there was a vast array of personalities in the film: the nerd, the jock, the douche-bag, the dumb person, the slutty one, the levelheaded one that gets killed first, etc. It sort of balanced out the film, but in ways it made it hard to follow because each character had such a strong personality that it was impossible to give each one their proper background story and still allow the plot to carry through at a bearable pace.
One of the things that was most intriguing about the previews (and motivated me to see the film) was its attempt at believability with the ways in which the "bad guys" are killed off. It appears as though the protagonists are all of a sudden in danger, not giving them much time to prepare to kill their antagonists and forcing them to be more creative in the ways they murder them.
Cons- I wasn't a huge fan of the relationship between the main characters. I'm not sure if it was a flaw in their on-screen chemistry, or poor direction, but it seemed very strained and not very believable. It, unfortunately, got worse as the movie continued which made it hard to enjoy because I found myself questioning their marriage more than I found myself rooting for them to survive.
The lack of common sense with Bosworth and Marsden was pretty astounding as well. This was particularly annoying due to the fact that the movie was trying so hard to be off the cuff, clever, and believable, but their stupidity sort of ruined it and got in the way.
Hands down the most frustrating thing about this movie is the LACK OF INFORMATION. There is little to nothing hinted at in this film that gives us any background information on ANY character, which is only so frustrating because the movie teases us with ambiguous past experiences, but doesn't go into any detail with any of them. Keeping in mind that this storyline was initially a book, then a movie, and now ANOTHER movie, I can only assume (and pray) that the book keeps these critical plot points that the movie deemed unnecessary,
And last but not least, there is a rape scene. Ick. I put this in the cons category because there was pretty much zero reason for them to include it in the film. I can tolerate these scenes when they move the story along by using the emotion of the scenario to fuel it, but this scene was not only uncomfortable to watch, but it was never (relevantly) brought up again in the plot. If you're going to use a rape scene, use it well, or don't use it at all.
Wrap up- Overall, this movie was a big let down. I'm hoping the book and first movie are better, but seeing this version has inhibited me from researching this story further due to its extreme sucky-ness.
