This fast-moving political thriller follows a newspaper investigation into a huge conspiracy that involves a powerful corporation and corrupt politicians. "PointCorp" already holds numerous government contracts, primarily for security work, but is also engaged in an effort to ensure that U.S. Homeland Security is effectively privatised so that the corporation can profit from becoming the sole contractor for all the work involved. The stakes are high as there are literally billions of dollars to be made from the government contracts and so the ruthless people at the top of the corporation are prepared to do whatever's necessary to ensure that they'll get what they want."Washington Globe" investigative reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) takes an interest in a night-time double-shooting incident during which a drug-addicted bag thief was killed and a pizza delivery man was incapacitated and then, next morning hears about a young woman who'd reportedly committed suicide by jumping under a subway train. It soon comes to light that the woman was Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), a researcher who was working for Cal's ex-college roommate, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). Collins is one of his party's rising stars and the chairman of a committee that's currently looking into the activities of PointCorp. When Collins receives the news about Sonia during a hearing that's being broadcast on TV, he tearfully informs everyone present and later, when he meets up with Cal, admits that Sonia was his lover and says that he's absolutely convinced that she didn't kill herself.When it emerges that Sonia disappeared under a train in one of the subway's CCTV blind spots, the bag thief was carrying a briefcase he'd stolen from PointCorp and the pizza delivery man is shot dead in his hospital bed, Cal becomes convinced of a link between all three killings and the existence of a major conspiracy. Cal's editor, Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren), teams him up with Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), a young inexperienced Capitol Hill blogger who writes for the Globe's online version and a major breakthrough follows when she recognises a man who features in one of the photos which was found in the briefcase that was stolen by the bag thief. This then enables Della and Cal to get the information they need to unravel the mystery surrounding Sonia's death and the whole PointCorp conspiracy that, after some further twists and turns, enables them to go to press with their major story.Despite the rather involved nature of this movie's plot and the impressive speed with which the action's delivered, it never loses its clarity and always takes sufficient time to provide all the information that's necessary to make its characters seem totally credible. As a veteran journalist, Cal believes in avoiding sensationalism and checking out his stories thoroughly to ensure that they're accurate. However, his high standards are no longer appreciated in the fast-moving digital world where speed is valued far more highly than accuracy or good taste. By contrast, Della's far more in tune with the current news environment as her gossipy stories and opinion columns take far less time to produce and have the advantage of also attracting a large readership.As the struggling "Washington Globe" has new owners (MediaCorp) who are only interested in profits, they've put great pressure on its editor to improve the bottom line or else see the paper closed down and consequently, this pressure makes Cameron Lynne become increasingly demanding, bad tempered and snappy with her staff.The differences between Cal, Della and Cameron add interest to their working relationships and the fact that Cal's friendly with Collins and had previously had an affair with his wife Ann (Robin Wright), makes his struggle for objectivity even more difficult than it would normally be. The quality of the acting in this movie is consistently top-class with superb performances by all its main players and Robin Wright and Jason Bateman (as the PR agent who turns informant) both excellent in their important supporting roles.

As a fan of the "political thriller" genre, I had been very disappointed in the recent fare from that category that I had viewed. It seemed as if either all the answers were given up front (rendering the rest of the film rather boring), or the filmmakers tried to cram every revelation into the last few minutes. Fortunately, "State of Play" does neither, instead relying on terrific pacing that will keep you into the plots and guessing all the way to the end.The basic plot of the film centers on two reporters, played by Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, for a dying (aren't they all these days?) newspaper. As they begin work on a seemingly simple story involving a murder, they come to find that its threads are much deeper than what some in the government would want them to believe.Though this seems like the standard fare for the political thriller genre, the pacing (an under- used criterion in filmmaking these days) is so excellent that it never feels old or stale. With seemingly each passing minute, a new element is introduced into the lives of either the characters or the unfolding mystery plot. Never once did I find myself glancing at the VCR timer to see how much was left...I was enthralled by the entire story.In the acting department, Crowe turns in another stellar performance as a hard-nosed journalist who doesn't mind doing some dirty work to feed the journalistic machine. McAdams also shows how versatile she can be (how many actresses could pull off Mean Girls, Nicholas Sparks fare, and this sort of thriller in a career?) as Crowe's sidekick who slowly becomes so much more. About the only disappointment is Ben Affleck as a U.S. Congressman...it seems as if he is just kind of sleep-walking through his screen time.The final aspect that pushes this film somewhere between "above-average" and "excellent" is the plot's grounding in real-life issues. While working for a large newspaper run by an editor (Helen Mirren) who knows what needs to be done for the business to survive in these times, Crowe and McAdams' characters are constantly challenged by how far they should go to uncover their story. The angle isn't overly preachy, which is always a plus, instead trying to show the reality of the situation.Thus, if able, I would give this film a 4.5 star rating. Though it doesn't have quite enough memorable "oomph" to be truly a classic (I watched it two weeks ago and already the details are beginning to fade), it delivers a very entertaining two hours filled with twists, turns, and interesting characters.

Ah yes, another liberal nightmare fantasy flick, this time about the threat of a private defense contractor - and if anyone thinks the "PointCorps" of the flick is not supposed to be Blackwater, please seek treatment for terminal naivete - who is secretly seeking to take control of American society. Of course, how this is supposed to happen when defense budgets are getting slashed to the bone under liberal governance is a mystery. If you want a real nightmare scenario, someone should make a flick about how the kudzu-like tentacles of the federal bureaucracy in the form of the IRS, the EPA, the FDA, the FTC, the Education Department, HHS, HUD and the whole alphabet soup of unelected bureaucrats is insinuating itself into every aspect of our lives. But considering the moonbat crowd that runs Hollywood, I'm not holding my breath. Considered purely as an action/mystery flick this isn't bad as pure entertainment, but the political overtones are offputting.

A druggie thief is gunned down in a dark tunnel along with a pizza delivery guy on a bicycle by a mysterious assassin with a suitcase. The delivery guy survives. Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) is a gruff cynical beat reporter checking out the story. Meanwhile a young female staff to congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) dies falling off the subway platform. Collins is assumed to have had an affair with that aide. Ambitious young writer Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) from the newspaper's online side wants to write something about Collins. McAffrey was Collins' college roommate. As Cal investigates, he uncovers a complicated corrupt Washington political system and a connection between the thief and the political aide.There are great actors being directed by the first rate Kevin Macdonald. There are all kinds of things being jammed into this. There is the newspaper world. There is the Washington political world. There is the military industrial complex. There is an assassin. There is personal history between the characters. It is a lot but Macdonald keeps it all understandable. Russell Crowe keeps the story moving with the attention on him. It's a firecracker thriller although it is a little long.