Ben Affleck ≠ David Morrissey
It was my Dad's birthday, and SoP is exactly the type of intrigue that he likes, so I suggested we all go see it, and I was curious. And, you know what, for the most part, they do a credible job. I mean, it seems insane to take an eight part mini-series and squash it down to 2 hours and expect it to be good, but I liked it.
They changed some things -- notably Della's role was shifted slightly more front and center, the assassin has a slightly more important part although essentially the same, rather than it being oil companies that are the bad guys it's a private military company called PointCorp (timely!), Cameron doesn't have a son, all of the other reporters are less integral, the affair between Cal and Anne happened in the past, and a few other stuff. But the basic plot is unaltered (if accelerated, only a few days pass in the movie version, versus I believe it was weeks in the mini-series), all the reveals are there, etc. I was able to buy Russell Crowe as Cal even though he's so vastly different than John Simm, he made it his own, and I think the same could be said for just about everyone. Certainly Helen Mirran was excellent, and even Jason Bateman was kind of fabulous as Dominic Foy (who'da thunk? I mean, seriously, but that guy went for it. He's not nearly as slimy in appearance as Marc Warren, so I had my doubts about the casting, but I loved him in this).
However, there was no way, at all, in any conceivable universe anywhere, that Ben Affleck could ever even remotely come close to matching David Morrisey in talent and believability. Which is sad, because that role really needed someone with more oomph than Ben Affleck. You had to buy his sincerity, his innocence, his feelings of betrayal and loss, all of it, and Ben tries, he really does, you can see how hard he tries, but it just feel short of the mark. It's like watching a cardboard cut out. Everyone else? Totally worked for me. Ben Affleck? Sorry, no. Perhaps I'm biased, because I think DM can do no wrong, but still. Ben Affleck looks the part, but he pales in comparison.
But, I didn't think the movie sucked. I thought it was quite good, actually, all in all.