Beyond the Trophy (2012)

TROPHY tells the story of men's obsession with power and how far they will go to claim the "PRIZE". Two rival gangs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, led by Gino (Robert Miano) and Cole (... See full summary »

Director:

Daniel J. Gillin

Writers:

Daniel J. Gillin, Michael Adam Hamilton (additional material written by)

Stars:

Michael Madsen, Stephen Cloud, Eric Roberts

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Madsen	...	Cole Lambert
Stephen Cloud	...	Det. Terry Wells
Eric Roberts	...	Sgt. Bachman
Michael Masini	...	Danny O'Neill
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Billy Thomas
Ben Maccabee	...	Mark Bradford
Nicole Andrews	...	Lana
Ali Costello	...	Angela
Robert Miano	...	Gino
Alek Carrera	...	Jake Le Blanc
Daniel J. Gillin	...	Hitman at Beach
Drew Gallagher	...	Kristoph
Brooke Newton	...	Chastity Bachman
Craig Zucchero	...	Swat Team Leader
Janet Spitzer	...	Keisha

Storyline

TROPHY tells the story of men's obsession with power and how far they will go to claim the "PRIZE". Two rival gangs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, led by Gino (Robert Miano) and Cole (Michael Madsen), are vying for control. Danny (Michael Masini), an LAPD undercover police detective, goes deep into gangland to infiltrate one gang to bring down both. Along the way, he becomes entangled with the beautiful and seductive Angela (Ali Costello), whose relationship with her husband Jake and mob leader Gino makes her the focal point of an intoxicating romantic equation-with deadly consequences. Her dream is to escape the wrath of evil abusive men, and find the love she never knew but always dreamed of. Even in the underworld, sometimes dreams do come true even when it all seems impossible

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Plot Keywords:

dream | power | love | vegas | nightclub | 

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Taglines:

There is no honor among thieves

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ganglands

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paradise Entertainment

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Could have much better but It still hit the spot • 6/10

This is a strange movie that had loads of chances to get me really involved with the characters but it didn't happen as well as I'd hoped. First time writer/director Daniel J. Gillin has steered this production of $2 million a bit shakily but certainly no more than most rookies. Perhaps if he's fortunate enough to raise a budget again he'll have learned from working on 'Beyond the Trophy'. He has gathered a rather mixed bag of talent and some of them are nobody's first choice but amongst them are some battle hardened pro's like Eric Roberts. Eric seems to be attempting some kind of record attempt in making the most 'mainstream' films in a single year, and I have to say, I think 2013 might be his year, lol. Take a look at how many films he has planned.

I am a fan of 'some' of Michael Madsen's work, I mean 'Reservoir Dogs' made him a household name for a while, but he's had so many miss-fires it's unbelievable and the rate he's making films is also unbelievable (a massive 15 for 2012!). Anyway he does this decent narration through the film that I quite enjoyed but there wasn't much else 'to' enjoy. As I already hinted, the story isn't original in the slightest and the characters are so over the top, cheesy, corny.......caricatures of themselves that we just cant find them believable or likable. Because of the mixed bag of talent, even when one actor is giving a decent performance, it gets wasted when another delivers a wooden one. There really are a few decent actors but no one gets to shine in this poor mans 'The Departed' but even so I actually settled into it.

The bottom line is, unoriginal story, in some cases poorly acted, looked rushed at times, shaky direction and the pacing didn't help matters but for a first outing, it held it's own.

Score: 6/10

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