Training Day screenwriter David Ayer makes his directorial debut with this equally gritty crime drama, based on a script he wrote in his early 20s. Inspired by his own experiences on the tough streets of south central LA, it's a powerful tale of friendship, loyalty and ambition. Christian Bale is disturbingly intense as Gulf War veteran Jim, a raging human time bomb haunted by his combat experiences. Initially he spends his days getting wasted and joyriding with his similarly unemployed buddy Mike (Six Feet Under's Freddy Rodriguez), infusing the picture with black comedy as they try to conceal their antics from Mike's upwardly mobile girlfriend Sylvia (Eva Longoria). However the edgy humour is soon replaced by unflinching violence and horror as Jim reaches meltdown and their misadventures turn deadly. Ayer's dialogue is scorching, compensating for the slightly pedestrian visuals, but his overall narrative lacks restraint. While Bale's turn is extraordinary, it eventually overpowers the film, lending it an air of soulless negativity that's increasingly hard to stomach.