Chris Evans Makes His Directorial Debut With Before We Go: What Are the Critics Saying? 

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Chris Evans Makes His Directorial Debut With Before We Go: What Are the Critics Saying?

by Francesca Bacardi Thu., Sep. 3, 2015 9:18 AM PDT

Chris Evans has added himself to the list of actors-turned-directors with his debut,

, a romantic dramedy in which Nick Vaughn (Evans) meets Brooke (Alice Eve) in Grand Central Terminal after she misses her train. Long story short, the two set off into the Manhattan streets in the middle of the night to try and locate her stolen purse so she can get home. Eventually they bare their souls to each other, and together work out their own past mistakes.

star shouldn\'t hang up his shield for a place behind the camera just yet.

some do note that, for a first directorial effort, it\'s not so bad.

"...Nick and Brooke never seem much more real or complex than the smiling suburbanites in the Sunday-circular ads, their myriad crises plastered on top rather than felt from within," writes

\'s Scott Foundas. "Even when Evans tries to inject some suspense into the proceedings by giving Brooke a secret reason for needing to be home before daybreak, you never really feel there\'s much at stake."

The Huffington Post credits Evan for doing the best work possible with the little he was given. "Evans did a good job with what he had in front of him. The problem with

was the writing. He chose a script with 4 writers. A screenplay with one writer is a good number," Lee Alport explains. "...The honest truth is the script was simply bland. And Evans made the best of it."

Critics also suggest that Evans is trying to turn

. Sadly, he falls short and delivers uninteresting characters.

is like going on a date with someone who only talks about their ex," writes IndieWire. "Indeed, much of Brooke and Nick\'s time together is spent focused on people who have hurt them, so when we\'re supposed to believe during the third act that they are being drawn to each other, it\'s a bit mysterious why they find each other interesting, beyond having a mutual shoulder to cry on."

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 was disappointed all around except when it came to the New York City setting. "

is best when it lets Evans and Eve banter on stoops, but the screenplay, by Ron Bass and Jen Smolka, is heavy on clichéd set pieces," writes Sara Stewart. "An impromptu duet in a bar to earn some cash. A visit to a wise old psychic behind a tacky window display. Evans shoots the city with some genuine warmth and grit, but returns too often to lingering close-ups of Nick and Brooke looking star-crossed."

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