I liked Training Day.<br /><br />I like Christian Bale.<br /><br />Together, they should be a pretty great combination. And together they were, in David Ayer's directorial debut, Harsh Times. Bale in particular, as always, got the notice of critics when the film hit the festival circuit, and came and went in limited theatrical release late last year. Looking fairly interesting, I gave the movie a watch, and despite the praise, ended up being immensely disappointed.<br /><br />Jim Davis (Bale) is a war veteran, living in Los Angeles and trying to become a cop. He feels he is destined for it, and despite his heavy drinking and smoking (sometimes cigarettes, sometimes marijuana), feels his training overseas makes him more than qualified to help clean up the scum in LA. He lives this desire each day, along with his dream of marrying his sweetheart Marta (Tammy Trull) from Mexico. So while he goes on hoping for the best, he takes his best friend Mike (Freddy Rodriguez) around town looking for a job. But his heavy psychological trauma may prove to be a problem for Jim and his quest.<br /><br />Without getting into anything more specific, this is the set-up for Harsh Times, and the pattern the film follows for the majority of its runtime (before taking the two main characters on a rather obscure road trip to Mexico that lasts for the final act of the film). And this is also what works against it.<br /><br />From an ill-placed and beyond confusing opening in the Middle East, the film runs through scene after scene practically thrusting the viewer right in the middle of the action, and hoping they will completely understand the motivations of all of the characters, or even why we should even care about them in the first place. Right from the start, the viewer gets little backstory on Jim or Mike, and even as the film progresses, do not quite get an adequate understanding of who these men are. As I learned it, they are no good losers who drink and smoke while driving, and just get into general mischief instead of what they should be doing. I have seen tons of childish coming-of-age stories like this, and the only difference with this film is that the main characters are men in their twenties, and are not being played by the children they are acting like.<br /><br />If this mismatched pair is actually from the streets, and have been through the Harsh Times that the title and the film itself suggest, then how can they act like such children? Should they not be more hardened, or even more psychologically damaged than the film lets on? How can they be so simply characterized, and not even for an instant truly believe they should have so many more advanced traits than they do? This seems to be a problem more in the realm of the writer/director, than it is with the actors. As they are, Bale delivers a very good performance as Jim. I could see the work he put into his portrayal of this evil and conceited individual, and I can see just why he continues to be one of young Hollywood's most talented possessions. Even Rodriguez, who is getting better and better as an actor with each role he takes on, does a very good job here as Jim's sidekick, and voice of reason. But both are clearly held back by the limits placed within the confines of the script. Neither is truly more than merely two-dimensional in any scene (whereas the likes of Bale's brilliant Patrick Bateman in American Psycho is a living, breathing three-dimensionally twisted and perverse monster), and even at their best of times, just do not feel well written or described. The actors look like they are struggling to understand their motivations in every scene, and when they are not giving it their all, they just look confused and horrified at the things that are taking place in front of them.<br /><br />It is almost as if Ayer (no stranger to the LA streets with a resume including the aforementioned Training Day, as well as Dark Blue, S.W.A.T., and The Fast and The Furious) got ahead of himself in constructing the story, that he forgot to make his protagonists/antagonists actually feel the pain and anguish that the story sets out for them. Jim and Mike are supposed to look like they have failed at life, and show the torment they are facing as a result. And while Jim does show some distress, Mike shows nothing but bewilderment. Ayer clearly wants us to see the chaotic scheme of things on the LA streets, but he does not want to commit to any of the ideas he brings up. And what should have been a great stretching point from the acclaimed Training Day quickly morphs into amateur first time film-making.<br /><br />And even when this muddled mess comes to its conclusion, there is still a blatant lack of satisfaction with where it has gone. For all it sets itself up for, there should be so much more going on. But like it seemed before, Ayer does not want to commit to anything, so he just lets genuine moments of greatness slide past before any of the characters can use them. None of the supporting cast stands out as being worthwhile in their roles, and all of them are wasted in the grand scheme of things. They can be glorified extras for all the viewer cares, they just do not seem to be needed for anything Ayer does briefly commit to.<br /><br />If Harsh Times is worth anything, it is for the decent performances from Bale and Rodriguez. These are both top-notch actors who have clearly done much better work in much better films, but if one is to venture into this jumbled mess, they have to have something to look forward to.<br /><br />3/10.