Finestkind is a good movie that wants to be great but is hamstrung by some generic desire to be about something other than what it is. It feels like an earnest story of salty New England fishermen that gets hijacked by some studio suit who insisted there needed to be something more.

This Paramount+ flick stars Ben Fosters and Toby Wallace as step-brothers… Foster is an old hand at New England fishing and Wallace is his little brother who rebels against the expectations of his wealthy father and joins the crew. Half the film is about a bunch of working stiffs while the other is a grafted on crime drama that nobody asked for.

Two thirds of this film is a grounded family/working man drama that makes being a professional fisherman interesting. We get to see how these guys work their nets, pull up their catches, and prep them for sale. That may not sound interesting, but it’s acted well, feels believable, and looks great. I was into it.

There’s a romantic subplot with Jenna Ortega that was cute and honest even if it feels like she was added just to attract eyeballs (and they were probably right).

Then it takes a turn into a generic blue collar crime drama. It went from a story set in a very specific sub-genre of realistic fiction into an overly familiar, very typical crime story which never quite fit the rest of the movie. I don’t necessarily think this part of the flick was bad, but it wasn’t particularly interesting or original either.

It’s unfortunate but I still think its a good enough movie. The family drama, the romance, and the grounded fishermen story worked… the crime plot is watchable even as it drags the movie down. I still found the film engrossing even as my attention wandered in the third act. What a tonal mistake.

Score: 79