Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There's probably a pretty good story hiding in here somewhere, and there may even be a great point behind it all, but it gets so bogged down in Refn's EXTREME self-indulgence and naive social/political commentary, that any point it may have is lost. It seems to revel in the depravity that it condemns, and pointlessly so. And I have to mention the pacing. Every single shot, every single line of dialog, every single action shown, is drawn out to extreme lengths. I like slow scenes when they serve the story, but even then, if there's no other speed to anything, it loses the impact. Refn only has ONE gear, and it's all snail all the time. He needs to learn how to let his visual impulses serve the story instead of letting the story serve his impulses. And that is the biggest problem with Refn and this series. It all serves to let Refn indulge himself. It plays out like a grotesque monument to his ego. I don't use words like "pretentious" and "self-indulgent" very often. I generally find them to be weak critiques given in lieu of actual thought, but in this case I find both descriptors incredibly apt.