fizzybenilyn’s review published on Letterboxd:
The first act of this film is great, really great. There's another standout performance from Ryan Gosling reprising the strong, silent, brooding anti-hero role from Drive, only on two wheels this time instead of four. There's some wonderfully kinetic, inventive cinematography that really makes the film stand out, particularly when Gosling is riding his dirt bike through the woods and the supporting cast are also strong across the board at this point, none more so than Ben Mendehlson and Eva Mendes.
Unfortunately, right around the first hour mark, the film suddenly shifts down a gear, this coincides with the introduction of Bradley Cooper. I don't like Bradley Cooper. From here on, the story diverges completely and immediately all the spirit and energy is drained away to be replaced by ...well...Cop Land basically.
While my ass was falling asleep over the next hour and a half I felt like I was sitting through another two seperate movies which were populated by bog standard characters and padded out by coincidence after coincidence. At the beginning of the third story there is a "twist" that is so pedestrian it was laughable and as soon as you work it out (about 10 minutes before the film reveals it) you can fill in the blanks all the way through to the end.
While I really enjoyed the first hour and applaud the film for it's sudden jolt at the turn of the first hour, they really could have wrapped up the rest of the story without all the extraneous information in about 20 to 30 minutes and it would have been all the better for it in my eyes.