State of Play is available on DVD.
"State of Play" belongs in a genre thats is very rare now a days, the investigated journalism genre. This genre has seen such high points as "All the President's Men" and "The Insider" (another Russell Crowe film). Unfortunately, "State of Play" never reaches these heights, but that's not to say it's all that bad.
It stars Russell Crowe as a reporter for the Washington Globe. He's one of those dedicated writers that will throw anything to the side for a good story, even if that includes their own life. Crowe investigates the relation to the death of a minor criminal to that of a Congressman's aide. The Congressman in question also happens to be Crowe's best friend, played by Ben Affleck. As Crowe begins to connect the dots (thanks to the help of Rachel McAdams), he see a link to the deaths and an undercover military operation.
"State of Play", which is based on a far superior BBC mini-series (highly recommended), nevers becomes the film it wants to be. It has "President" or "Insider" aspirations, but settles for average Hollywood by-the-numbers entertainment. With that said, it isn't bad Hollywood entertainment. The film tries to respects the audience as much as it can and in some ways challenge them. Bottom line, there are better movies you could be watching, but this is better than most of the junk they put out now.
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