If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A coming of age story where a high school kid has to talk to an old guy for an assignment and ends up forming a sort of a friendship with his next door neighbor who has been an assassin and is about too die.It is not a very original idea, but it is a very enjoyable movie. Actually it is a bit of a more original young guy being friends with old guy story because of the whole last assassination mission. Besides all the characters are great. I also like the guy's mother played by Sarah Silverman. When she is worried Ashby is touching her son it is a very funny moment.Mickey Rourke is absolutely perfect in his role. It is a great character and he also manages to make us love him all the way. We can also see him being influenced by his younger friend. This makes the story so much sweeter when we see people in all stages of life learning from each other.

The chemistry between Mickey Rourke and Nat Wolff felt genuine and was embracing. I found myself smiling and wished the MRI inside the basement was a second opinion and Mickey wasn't dying. Quite a balancing act achieved considering several life altering themes throughout the film. I then hoped he would pull out a gun and eliminate his assassins. The high school teacher Mr. Mark kept delivering great lines like Kubricks characters in Dr Strangelove, Major King Kong , the cowboy riding a nuclear bomb and George C Scott as General Buck Turgidson. Dark comedy done with great style and pulled off by great acting from Mickey and Nat. Best performance yet by Mickey Rourke.

It's a wonderful cast and not a bad production either, so I enjoyed the watch, but did not like the film much. The reason is I had seen a few similar flicks which are much better than this in every way. A school kid and his single parents' struggling relationship and their strange neighbour, so it is the concept I'm familiar with, but the story was a bit different. There are a few good scenes in it, but the most of the parts were dominated by the only the nice events like happily ever after kind of stuffs right from the beginning.The title role was played by Mickey Rourke, but it was Nat Wolff's film. The narration should have been much better, I mean it should have had more complicated segments. I even don't know how it got the R rating. The writing and the direction, both should have been a bit bolder. There are some people who liked it a lot and defending it, but I'm neutral. To me it was 50-50, I neither liked nor disliked. But all I wanted was a bit better than this, so I can't judge it for other. I hope you make a right decision on this if you plan to watch it.5/10

The character Ed was drawn out through the film. Rather than a gradual formation of confidence, the character was entirely on the fence. His intelligence greatly surpassed his ability to connect with people and understand their feelings - this changes near the end as events become more serious and he obviously learns some life lessons from Ashby. Aside from this typical series of events, the character Ashby had a lot to offer to the film, but it seemed too rushed for any in-depth progression. Regardless, Rourke's acting is entirely convincing and heartfelt, taking you into the life of someone who has done wrong but with good intentions. Also, beyond the cliché high school scenes, there was an interesting perspective by the director that played out as it went beyond the typical jock-hierarchy and parties to something more systematic. However it did not shy away from the stereotypical high school drama - just not to the extent that the film would feel like your average high school movie.