The brothers Nikas seek a devilishly ‘Good Time’ even if it kills them. After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother Nick (Benny Safdie) in prison, Constantine Nikas (Robert Pattinson) embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City’s seedy crime underworld in an increasingly desperate-and dangerous-attempt to get his brother out of jail. Over the course of one adrenalized night full of booze, drugs, and off-the-wall characters, Constantine finds himself on a high-speed mad descent into brutal violence and mayhem as he races against the clock to save his brother and himself, knowing their lives hang in the balance, which up until now has been an everyday waste. ‘Good Time’ is directed by the brotherly duo of Joshua and Ben Safdie, and is rated R for adult language throughout, violence, drug use and sexual content.

‘Good Time’ is more than just a clever name, it’s a gritty, hostile, and often entertaining run-all-night that brings to life my memories of 2006’s ‘Running Scared’, starring Paul Walker. While that film is A better overall presentation, it’s easy to see how the brothers Safdie could certainly feel influenced by that previous picture, in presenting this film based in a neon-fueled nightmare world where every solution feels like it’s getting worse for our brother protagonists. Despite some stretching in situational logic that does require the occasional suspension of disbelief, this is A film that merits vital consequences responsibly, speaking to the theme that no good deed in this world goes unpunished. The film for me was A lot of fun to just kind of entertain myself for 95 minutes without thinking about what pertains to how easy and simple-minded some of these escape plans likely should’ve been for these characters. When you think about it too much, you’re likely to miss the point of this crime drama; and that is that we would commit terribly stupid measures to assure the well-being of those we love. That concept alone gave ‘Good Time’ plenty of heart in an otherwise dismal landscape of robberies, drugs, and even underage sex.

For my money, the set-up to this film is brilliant. I love the idea that Constantine very much feels responsible for his brother landing in jail because of an irresponsible goal that was in fact his idea alone. Constantine feels like the terrible influence to Nick, not only because the latter is mentally handicap, but also because he’s kind of the shit-stirrer that often jumps when he realizes a sinking ship. Throughout the film, Constantine has only one other alli, and that is in his relationship with a female character whom he uses and throws away at his discretion, so it feels like this guy seems aware of who he has to betray to get what he wants, but there’s definitely a family bond that moves this script miles in terms of its urgency. The second act is very much elevating the tension, taking Constantine through the overnight lunacy of the New York streets. The film does kind of forget about Nick during this time, bringing him up only when it’s important to serve A reminder to the audience, but this doesn’t mean the film rests from its ambitions, keeping the eye on the prize firmly until about the film’s final half hour when all else becomes a bit too convoluted amongst what is important here.

And that is where this film seems to blur the lines of moral clause that it was presenting in the film’s finale. Loose ends are tied up yes, and the wrong are left to suffer, but it does leave me with this unshakeable feeling of disappointment considering how this powder-keg continued to build and build until it felt like it was going to blow. The absence of a noticeable antagonist does feel greatly impactful to the plot because there are A lot of scenes when Constantine should be looking behind him waiting for something to catch up, instead of looking forward to the next big score, and there’s rarely enough peak in dramatic pull to ever top this tension off to edge-of-the-seat levels for the audience. The third act also makes A great mistake in introducing too many subplots to the film far too late in the film. A bag of money that has nothing to do with our main characters pops up in A park, and that seems to warrant more of the film’s attention than the mentally handicap brother who could be dead at any moment, rotting away in prison. Suddenly that human element that I mentioned earlier feels so absent from the film, and the movie’s closing moments don’t pack the kind of emotional punch that a far superior first half built up.

It’s not all bad however, as the film’s aesthetic department played vicariously well in conjuring up the imagination of this adult playground. The neon-inspired cinematography always does wonders in a red light district sort of feel, but it also caters to 80’s cop thrillers that uses this method of style to heighten the scary landscapes. The camera work here is exceptional, displaying the articulate method in using handheld camera direction without shaking the camera too much or dissolving what is playing out firmly before us. My favorite aspect of the presentation however is in the heart-pounding and alluring musical score by composer Daniel Lopatin. This is simply put my favorite musical score of the year, mainly because it is used at ear-shattering levels to heighten the impact of each establishing shot, and because it dips its synth/chillwave tones in 80’s 8-bit euphoria to bring a marriage to film that serves as A callback to 80’s action films. It’s definitely one that I plan on buying, and this film will have outstanding replay value for me even if just to listen to these elevating plateaus in audio perfection.

As for performances, there isn’t A wide range of cast here, instead ‘Good Time’ feels focused on a one man tour de force that brings out the best in Pattinson and stands him at the forefront of acting ardor. This is the same man who stole the show in possibly my favorite film of the year in ‘The Lost City of Z’, and thankfully he doesn’t have to fight as viciously for that spot here. As Constantine, we meet A flawed individual whose humanity feels like the one contributing factor to his madness. It’s true that he isn’t the smartest character in the world, but Robert’s eyes commute the idea that his brain’s wheel never stops moving, shifting for the next position of power to get him and his brother out of this deal. I gave Robert a lot of shit early in his career for taking the ‘Twilight’ roles, but he’s done an exceptional job in silencing the doubters like me with against-type performances that make his movies a notable watch to see a real actor hone his craft. The film also has A guest cameo from Jennifer Jason Leigh, who is solid in the five minutes that she’s in this movie, but unfortunately it doesn’t amount to much to the importance of this script. I wish her character could’ve come into focus more towards the ending, but it’s clear that she’s only A spoke on Constantine’s wheels of self destruction.

THE VERDICT – This ‘Good Time’ comes with a lethal dose of dizzying entertainment and A jaw-droppingly transfixing performance from Pattinson at the helm. The film’s closing minutes are definitely the weakness, forgetting about its commitment to family for A cliche heist effort that underwhelms all the way to the finish line. Thankfully the aesthetic touch is as pure as paint, combining illuminating lighting and A nostalgic 80’s action musical score to present an overall gritty visual graze that proves desert is still to come in this already overwhelming Summer platter.

7/10