First off, I have to say that this is a good movie, and I can say with 99.9% certainty that the ridiculously low IMDb rating of 4.7 that is currently there at the time of this writing is due to dishonest raters that I know did not actually watch this movie.*
Both my wife and I liked this movie a lot, because it was engaging and well paced, did not take itself too seriously, yet took itself seriously enough to respect the characters, and kept the suspense up throughout, with surprises at every step. Acting performances weren't all great, but none were embarrassing, and many were a step up above what was expected.
Action sequences were all very good, though could have done with less shaky cam on one of the chases. Certainly far less annoying than Bourne shaky cam.
I would describe the movie as a perfectly paced, slick, hip-hop generation mash-up of HEAT, John Woo films, Ocean's 11, Italian Job, The Professional, The Matrix, Tarantino/Woo/Leone, by a director (John Luessenhop) whose intelligence really shows on the screen... Despite all the homages/imitations/derivative elements to the script, nothing about how the film is shot in a half-baked or clichéd. Even the points in the story that could potentially lag a little, Luessenhop knows exactly how long to hold a scene, cover for his actors, or put a little visual interest in the scene to keep things interesting.
*** spoilers ***
Movies this film reminds me of:
Basic premise of TAKERS and HEAT is a story of a professional crew that robs banks/armored cars, and the cop that tries to stop them. Told from both robbers' and cops' point of view, looking at their personal lives and headaches. In both movies, the cops are far less glamorous and charismatic than the gangsters. Both movies, things fall apart for the gangsters because of (A) a fly in the ointment betrays they (T.I. Harris - Ghost in TAKERS, Kevin Gage - Waingro in HEAT)(B) trying to do a big score on short notice (C) Personal life of one gangster screws himself (Idris Elba - Gordon Jennings with his sister and Chris Shiherlis and his gambling in HEAT). HEAT is considered a classic by many, but TAKERS really doesn't take itself nearly so seriously. The charismatic super- crew of ex-cons that robs banks in both movies is clearly a fantasy, but HEAT takes itself very seriously. In TAKERS, the gangsters are a bit more like the ones in Italian JOB or OCEAN'S 11, but updated for youth. TAKERS is played very naturalistic, but doesn't stretch for any kind of deeper meaning.
JOHN WOO movies are definitely a huge inference, mostly in GQ lifestyle of the gangsters, and their camaraderie... the general tone of the movie... the style of gun play & action sequences of course... and the pacing of the entire movie. Missing was the focus on a bromance/parallel between 1 cop and 1 villain, which seems to be a feature of John Woo movies (and HEAT as well).
OCEAN'S 11 and THE Italian JOB (directly referenced in their description of the armored car plan) both heavily influenced this as well... The camaraderie of the crew... the slickness of the planning... like those movies (and unlike HEAT, where the gangsters have our sympathy, but are still the bad-guys), the gangsters are clearly the heroes of this movie. They even give 10% of their loot to charity. They're not "bad guys"... in the ethical system of the movie, they're just "getting paid"... (and as if to emphasize that even more, one of the main cops steals money too, when faced with a choice).
The fetishism of fashion and violence was definitely reminiscent of MATRIX. The way some of the action was shot reminded me of THE PROFESSIONAL too. Obviously the 3 way standoff at the airport was Sergio Leone, but that's become almost a cliché.
Some people have complained about T.I.'s acting, but I didn't think it detracted from the film. Sorry, but that's how the guy talks.
I think John Luessenhop is very talented. Idris Alba was a standout in the movie. Paul Walker was above average for Paul Walker. Michael Ealy was good as Chris Brown's character's brother, and Chris Brown was adequate to good for a singer. Hayden Christiansen, a guy I can't stand, was better than he usually is. I actually felt bad for him when his character died, which I didn't even feel when he died in STARWARS 3.
Matt Dillon was just OK, but I don't expect a lot from him. With that voice of his, I was seeing Healy from THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.
Cinematography - very good.
Pacing - very good.
Movie resists the urge to give you too much action from the get-go, and builds very nicely. There is always some reason for you to stay engaged, and you don't know who is going to survive.
Solid 7.5 to 8.
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* Movie was rated low by multiple people who didn't even watch the film. How do I know this?
I'm no fan of Chris Brown, and I knew Chris Brown hatred was out there but I had no idea how single-minded these people were. 22.1% of voters giving this movie a 1?
This movie clearly has good word of mouth (as evidenced by the B cinema-score, Yahoo A- rating, the #1 opening with Saturday > Friday despite minimal ad support and relatively good "legs" in the second week and highest per theater average, going against a lot of direct male action competition). People who watched this movie liked it, and if not for the dishonest ratings, I'd estimate that this movie would be pulling low 7s, high 6s range on IMDb, as any good action/heist caper movie tends to.
Both my wife and I liked this movie a lot, because it was engaging and well paced, did not take itself too seriously, yet took itself seriously enough to respect the characters, and kept the suspense up throughout, with surprises at every step. Acting performances weren't all great, but none were embarrassing, and many were a step up above what was expected.
Action sequences were all very good, though could have done with less shaky cam on one of the chases. Certainly far less annoying than Bourne shaky cam.
I would describe the movie as a perfectly paced, slick, hip-hop generation mash-up of HEAT, John Woo films, Ocean's 11, Italian Job, The Professional, The Matrix, Tarantino/Woo/Leone, by a director (John Luessenhop) whose intelligence really shows on the screen... Despite all the homages/imitations/derivative elements to the script, nothing about how the film is shot in a half-baked or clichéd. Even the points in the story that could potentially lag a little, Luessenhop knows exactly how long to hold a scene, cover for his actors, or put a little visual interest in the scene to keep things interesting.
*** spoilers ***
Movies this film reminds me of:
Basic premise of TAKERS and HEAT is a story of a professional crew that robs banks/armored cars, and the cop that tries to stop them. Told from both robbers' and cops' point of view, looking at their personal lives and headaches. In both movies, the cops are far less glamorous and charismatic than the gangsters. Both movies, things fall apart for the gangsters because of (A) a fly in the ointment betrays they (T.I. Harris - Ghost in TAKERS, Kevin Gage - Waingro in HEAT)(B) trying to do a big score on short notice (C) Personal life of one gangster screws himself (Idris Elba - Gordon Jennings with his sister and Chris Shiherlis and his gambling in HEAT). HEAT is considered a classic by many, but TAKERS really doesn't take itself nearly so seriously. The charismatic super- crew of ex-cons that robs banks in both movies is clearly a fantasy, but HEAT takes itself very seriously. In TAKERS, the gangsters are a bit more like the ones in Italian JOB or OCEAN'S 11, but updated for youth. TAKERS is played very naturalistic, but doesn't stretch for any kind of deeper meaning.
JOHN WOO movies are definitely a huge inference, mostly in GQ lifestyle of the gangsters, and their camaraderie... the general tone of the movie... the style of gun play & action sequences of course... and the pacing of the entire movie. Missing was the focus on a bromance/parallel between 1 cop and 1 villain, which seems to be a feature of John Woo movies (and HEAT as well).
OCEAN'S 11 and THE Italian JOB (directly referenced in their description of the armored car plan) both heavily influenced this as well... The camaraderie of the crew... the slickness of the planning... like those movies (and unlike HEAT, where the gangsters have our sympathy, but are still the bad-guys), the gangsters are clearly the heroes of this movie. They even give 10% of their loot to charity. They're not "bad guys"... in the ethical system of the movie, they're just "getting paid"... (and as if to emphasize that even more, one of the main cops steals money too, when faced with a choice).
The fetishism of fashion and violence was definitely reminiscent of MATRIX. The way some of the action was shot reminded me of THE PROFESSIONAL too. Obviously the 3 way standoff at the airport was Sergio Leone, but that's become almost a cliché.
Some people have complained about T.I.'s acting, but I didn't think it detracted from the film. Sorry, but that's how the guy talks.
I think John Luessenhop is very talented. Idris Alba was a standout in the movie. Paul Walker was above average for Paul Walker. Michael Ealy was good as Chris Brown's character's brother, and Chris Brown was adequate to good for a singer. Hayden Christiansen, a guy I can't stand, was better than he usually is. I actually felt bad for him when his character died, which I didn't even feel when he died in STARWARS 3.
Matt Dillon was just OK, but I don't expect a lot from him. With that voice of his, I was seeing Healy from THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.
Cinematography - very good.
Pacing - very good.
Movie resists the urge to give you too much action from the get-go, and builds very nicely. There is always some reason for you to stay engaged, and you don't know who is going to survive.
Solid 7.5 to 8.
------------------------
* Movie was rated low by multiple people who didn't even watch the film. How do I know this?
I'm no fan of Chris Brown, and I knew Chris Brown hatred was out there but I had no idea how single-minded these people were. 22.1% of voters giving this movie a 1?
This movie clearly has good word of mouth (as evidenced by the B cinema-score, Yahoo A- rating, the #1 opening with Saturday > Friday despite minimal ad support and relatively good "legs" in the second week and highest per theater average, going against a lot of direct male action competition). People who watched this movie liked it, and if not for the dishonest ratings, I'd estimate that this movie would be pulling low 7s, high 6s range on IMDb, as any good action/heist caper movie tends to.