After a life-changing injury a military contractor returns to Hawaii on assignment. He reunites with several people from his past, and tries to navigate the relationships that he abandoned several years earlier. He faces questions of loyalty, and honor as he tries to complete the tasks assigned to him by his new employer.

This movie showcases really great talent, in an unremarkable plot. The story focuses on Bradley Cooper’s character as he faces multiple moral decisions and difficult memories from his past. His character is interesting and well-developed, but the storyline surrounding him suffers from too much foreshadowing and becomes predictable. I would normally think Emma Stone to be a good fit for a quirky, over-zealous, love interest, but the role is pushed way beyond adorable. I found her annoying and difficult to warm up to later in the story. Rachel McAdams plays the lost love from the past. Her performance was admirable and engaging, but her character became lost to a degree in the multiple directions that the plot took. The interest generated in her character’s history and future with Cooper’s was ultimately lost in a storyline that took interest in too many other subjects.

Overall, the movie was not horrible… but Don’t Do It if you have a choice.