The Coen Brothers newfangled film Burn After Reading, which received its international premiere at the Venice film festival this week, has received mixed reviews.
Following up the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers managed to assume the services of world-wide superstars Brad Pitt and George Clooney for their latest project, alongside regular collaborators such as Frances McDormand.
Loosely, the film is dark clowning based on stupid spies, stupid personal trainers and a cluster of early stupid people thrown in for practiced measure.
It is a return to the wacky type of photographic film the Coens are comfortably known for and despite the immense amounts of attention its stars received at Venice on Wednesday, Burn After Reading is not loss down that well with critics.
The Guardian declares: "There are smart films more or less smart people, smart films about dumb people, just Burn Before Reading is a dumb film around dumb people."
Variety is somewhat more damming, describing the film as "immature" and "too basically silly".
"Nothing about the project?s execution inspires the feeling that this was ever intended as anything more than a titlark, which would be fine if it were a good ane. As it is audience teeth-grinding sets in early and never lets up," the powder magazine declares.
The Hollywood Reporter is more complementary, saying: "It takes for a while to adjust to the rhythms and subversive temper of "Burn" because this is actually an anti-spy thriller in which null is at stake, no one acts with intelligence operation and everything ends badly.
"Those who zest this picture might treat it as the sec coming of "The Big Lebowski"; those who don't might wonder at a story in which no character has a level head."
Burn After Reading is set to be released in the US on September 12th.
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