“State of Play” is billed as a thriller, however, this conspiracy-ridden film contains little suspense.

The movie opens with two reporters from the fictional Washington Globe newspaper attempting to break the biggest government conspiracy since Watergate. The seasoned and well-connected reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) has personal attachment to the story, calling his journalistic neutrality into question.

While attempting to uncover the truth, each character must face several challenges to their integrity and disposition.

The movie captured and addressed the idea that print journalism is dead and now “online gossip” media is taking over, a very real fact that McAffrey and some other older reporters have trouble grasping.

The missing piece to this puzzle is the lack of music and suspense. Usually in thrillers, the tense music comes in during the twist or surprise. The music makes the viewer sit on the edge of the seat and gets the heart racing. Unfortunately, “State Of Play” was missing that component and diminished its potential for maximum intensity.

Depending on the coupling of these two aspects, it can either push a movie over the edge toward greatness or keep it at the mediocre level, which is where “State of Play” resides.

At the end of the day, this film really comes down to questioning the characters’ friendships and integrity. There is nothing extraordinary or innovative, it is just another conspiracy thriller with a good storyline and interesting moral conflicts.

“State Of Play” is good but it will not have you sitting on the edge of your seat, biting your nails in suspense.