A Pennsylvania steel mill worker (Christian Bale) is carrying the load of a dying father and keeping his younger, less responsible brother in check when - in a stroke of devastating luck - is involved in a nasty car wreck, resulting in the death of a child. Having been coming back from a bar doesn't help matters and he's tossed in prison. Upon his release (I don't recall the length of his sentence being disclosed...), he finds that his father is dead, his girlfriend left him for the police chief and his bro has gotten mixed up in the gritty world of underground, bare-knuckle fighting. Things get a bit "confused" during a brawl out in the sticks and the brother and his "manager" are murdered by a ruthless redneck drug dealer. When Bale gets word of this, he does what he can to hunt down his bro's killer.
Things were going well up until the whole 'revenge' angle is kicked off, when the movie takes some highly implausible turns. Such as, the whole scene when Bale poses as a guy looking to score some drugs and, despite being skeptical as to whether or not he's a cop, they actually take him to their secluded drug 'headquarters' and offer information... Really? What a bunch of careless idiots. Also, Forest Whitaker seems incredibly miscast as the Chief/boyfriend of Bale's ex. He looks old enough to be her father and his role seems largely pointless. As for the 'big ending', it's pretty unfulfilling, overall. Everything following the main story arc seemed rushed and just far less interesting then all that was going on before that. The good points - well, like I said, the performances are all great; especially Woody Harrelson who quickly became my hero in the opening scene of the film (excellent use of a hotdog...) and continues to dominate in every subsequent scene he's in. It's also shot very well and has some nicely grim scenery.
If only it had ended a bit stronger, I'd be able to recommend it a little harder, but I'd say it's still worth checking out for what strengths it's got.
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