Director Kevin Macdonald’s follow up to the critically acclaimed The Last King of Scotland, State of Play (Universal Pictures) is a condensed film adaptation of an award-winning BBC miniseries of the same name. Though the miniseries consisted of six hour-long episodes, the U.S. film version runs slightly over two hours.

Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe, Body of Lies) is an old-fashioned investigative reporter. His computer is more than a decade old, and he uses his wit and know-how to get leads and stories that other reporters can’t. When a young researcher working for promising Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck, He’s Just Not That Into You) is mysteriously killed at a train station, he suspects that there is more to the story than meets the eye. The researcher was Collins’ mistress, and her murder may be directly connected to PointCorp, a billion-dollar private defense corporation that Collins was investigating.

McAffrey is assigned to the story by the Washington Globe’s editor-in-chief, Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren, The Queen), and reluctantly enlists the help of young blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams, Wedding Crashers). Using his ties to Collins, who was McAffrey’s college roommate, McAffrey has to figure out the truth behind the leads and try to balance his friendship with Collins, his relationship with Collins’ estranged wife Anne (Robin Wright Penn, White Oleander) and his duties as an investigative journalist.

State of Play is a refreshing break from the by-the-book thrillers that are cranked out by Hollywood two or three times a year. By telling the story from the journalistic point of view rather than from that of the police, the film gives viewers a unique insight into the murders, the suspects and the leads as facts come to the surface. With the Internet quickly replacing print journalism, the film is also relevant and timely, as McAffrey’s old style techniques often clash with Frye’s technologically-oriented views-often with the traditional methods succeeding.

The story is fast-paced and intricate, but viewers won’t get lost or bored while they wade through all the details. The shortfall of the script is that the ending falls flat, and the film’s payoff doesn’t seem to be quite worth all of the trouble. This may have been done to make a point that not everything is as convoluted as people think, or may just have been the result of three different screenwriters (Matthew Michael Carnahan, Billy Ray and Tony Gilroy) all working on one script.

Crowe gives the strong performance that people have come to expect from him. McAffrey is determined and conflicted, and Crowe plays this up nicely, while also portraying a lonely slob who is too deep in his work. McAdams, who hasn’t been in many films since a busy 2005, is a refreshing contrast to Crowe. Her youth and charm play surprisingly well off of Crowe’s character. Jason Bateman (Hancock) also gives a wonderfully done supporting turn as Dominic Foy, a public relations person who has ties to PointCorp and the murdered girl. He is a sleazy party-animal who steals the screen with the little time he is given.

Ben Affleck seems slightly miscast in the role of Congressman Collins, and it is hard to believe him as a college roommate to Crowe. Affleck sometimes brings the wrong emotions to scenes, overacting when he should be subtle and vice versa. Mirren’s casting is also slightly perplexing, as it seems strange that a British woman would be the head of Washington D.C.’s largest newspaper. Mirren does good work with the role, as she usually does, but isn’t the right choice for the part.

The cinematography in State of Play shows the cluttered newsroom from several angles and directly juxtaposes it to the blue skies and elegant structures of the nation’s capital. Many shots are well-thought out to build suspense, and the editing often works hand-in-hand with the camera angles to help heighten the tension.

Generally, State of Play is a suspenseful and original thriller that somewhat distinguishes itself from the clichés of its genre. Though it has flaws, it succeeds to entertain and is much better than most movies that are dumped in theaters around this time of year.