we liked it although I don't think it really needed just one central character to lead us by the hand through the film. I thought it would have been better to let more of the story be told through the eyes of everyone involved in the investigation, no matter how small a part they'd end up playing on screen, rather than turning Mark Wahlberg into the one cop that just happened to be present for every single event that happened before and during the investigation. I understand why they did it, but personally I thought it was unnecessary and came close to having me put palm to face at various points in the film.
Having said that, it didn't derail the whole film. I was quickly drawn into everything and it kept me that way until it finished. It's Mark Wahlberg's movie, given that he's in about 95% of the scenes, but I thought JK Simmons was the standout, for me. I thought he was really good. Kevin Bacon and John Goodman weren't far behind him despite none of them having much screen time, but there was something much more real about that. MW does start to feel like he's far too conveniently everywhere at just the right times by the end of it.
I did think it was pretty decent though