The Counsellor ** Despite the A-list cast and Ridley Scott’s fervent direction, Cormac McCarthy’s script leaves a lot to be desired in this overdressed drug-revenge movie.

Ridley Scott’s quasi-philosophical drug thriller sees Michael Fassbender as a slick lawyer and negotiator, only ever referred to as the titular “counsellor”. Whilst planning new business ventures with his zany associate Reiner, (played by Javier Bardem) The Counsellor becomes interested in a Mexican drug deal that promises to yield massive profit through a contact called Westray(Brad Pitt) – however the deal goes horribly wrong.

Scott’s picture may be lavishly dressed, but it is a relatively simplistic exploitation-movie setup mired by McCarthy’s over-embellished pseudo-existential dialogue. Characters say lines as turgid and insipidly enigmatic as; “are you really that cold?”, “the truth has no temperature” and there is arch talk about “the stone’s endless destiny, is that not the meaning of adornment?’ during a protracted discussion about engagement rings.

The explosive violence conflated with the overcharged sexual content should be more entertaining and daring than it actually is; it's surprising how a film that features a motorised garrotting device and Cameron Diaz having sex with a car manages to be quite so boring. Michael Fassbender in his best moments manages to convey the hollowed-out nature of his character convincingly and the likes of Bardem and Pitt ham it up as best they can in their sub-Tarantino outfits. Yet the mood of the piece is constantly trampled on by the script’s endlessly inert philosophising about drugs and death and fate – disappointing.