Jack Falls (2011) User Reviews

A Trite Exercise in Clichéd Tackiness

[tonicboy · 4/10 · 27 March 2011]

Normally, I wait until a film has at least a thousand reviews on IMDb before I watch it, but the first hundred reviews promised me such an amazing movie, I decided to ignore my better judgment. Too bad I didn't realize that the first hundred reviews were probably all the director's friends, family & cronies.

The biggest problem with Jack Falls is that it has no vision at all. Instead, the director sought to replace true creativity by blindly copying fads and gimmicks from other movies. The "film noir" style is copied from Sin City (a laughably bad imitation at best), the "black and white with touch of color" is copied from Schindler's List, and the characters are all copied from a Guy Ritchie movie. The thing is, as derivative as it was, that formula may actually have resulted in an enjoyable movie if it weren't for the acting which was at times cringe- worthy but mostly just mediocre.

If you're any sort of movie aficionado, stay far away from this movie - unless you're in the mood for a night of groans and face-palms.

not quite Guy Richie but worth a watch

[geoffmay-46-751926 · 5/10 · 5 May 2011]

I have got to disagree with a comment i read about the film being a waste of time. generally the story line is OK probably a 7/10, the acting also. the disappointment is that it was shot in the style of sin city - i think if it was shot in colour it would have had a grittier effect -as a Guy Richie style sort of film, but not quite. overall a 5/10 simply because of the way it was shot. if you are going to shoot in b/w remember you are competing with the likes of Schindlers List, in colour with the effect of harry brown it could have got away with it. considering the usual 'hardcore' of Richies actors i would have expected a little bit more but all in all 5/10. give it a chance and see if you agree.

poor man's sin city

[lawriekelly · 1/10 · 23 March 2011]

This is so not the way to adapt a graphic novel to the big screen, it does not work on so many levels,take half the actors from an old Guy Ritchie flick, an unbelievably bad supporting cast, throw in a dire script, mix in some cheap production values and your half way there to describing this low budget, made on a shoestring British gangster movie.It is so full of clichés and annoying effects especially the filming in black and white with the touch of "Schindler's list" using the hint of red to denote danger and death.This is what happens when a director tries to emulate a film like Sin City without a budget, script and most of all talent.Total waste of one hundred minutes of your life.

One of the worse movies

[user-16-237506 · 1/10 · 1 April 2011]

This movie is an example of how to ruin an excellent plot by filling it in with shallow, wooden acting, poor direction, and unnecessary visual effects.

I particularly hate the black and white theme with dashes of colour added in now and then. Someone thought it must be cool, but it those visual effects mean less than nothing, and the movie would have probably done a little better with normal colours (but I'm giving it too much credit, even with this statement).

The screenplay lacks any kind of sophistication, whatsoever.

My time would have been spent better if I were staring at at a wall instead of watching this movie.

The worst film I've seen for ages

[garelda-1-340840 · 1/10 · 15 March 2011]

Saw this last night - what a disappointment and the worst film I have seen for ages. It was, in my opinion, a vanity project, and while I get that it is the final part of the trilogy, sometimes I would say less is more. The film was full of ghastly clichés, and the plot was at best tenuous, and I'm being kind. The film looked very cheap, more like HDcam noir than film noir, and was strangely edited Couldn't believe how bad it was, thankfully this is the final part of the trilogy. The acting was so wooden it was embarrassing, and the plot was incredibly corny. The black and white shooting, with the odd splash of colour, while done to make it look cool, was just incredibly annoying. This film left me incredibly disappointed and in some ways cheated. Definitely wish I hadn't bothered going

Really fun

[kingmonkey-2 · 8/10 · 15 March 2011]

Watched last night at the premiere, a very enjoyable film. The film noir look really worked, and the split screen segments really add to the comic book feel. Some excellent action scenes and good performances all round, the cast were used perfectly, Alan Ford is perfect as the main villain, while Dexter Fletcher and Tamer Hassan really add to the film. Simon Phillips plays Jack perfectly and is very believable in the action scenes. While a thriller there are also some very funny moments, it's the best film of the trilogy so far and I for one would like to see the story continued.

A British film that deserves your attention.

Cool, Classy, Razor Sharp Film Noir!

[gabrielnolan · 9/10 · 15 March 2011]

I really wasn't sure what to expect going into this film, in truth my expectations weren't necessarily that high, although I did very much like the look of the trailer. Simply put, I was blown away! From the 35mm slick cinematic look right through to the incredible array of characters on screen, I was gripped from the start.

This is a cut far above your standard British gangster movie, it's oozing with style, I can't believe how much I enjoyed it. There is an action set piece about half way through that actually left me white knuckled (how many Hollywood blockbusters wish they could pull that off these days!) Alan Ford (Brick Top from Snatch) was brilliant, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Martin Kemp were all on razor sharp form, Adam Deacon proves he really can act and Simon Phillips was on fire as the titular Jack.

Yes the film wasn't without its faults and of course it won't be to everyone's taste, it's a revenge thriller noir when all said and done, but I was left genuinely shocked by the quality on offer, I highly recommend going in with an open mind (unlike I did) and checking it out for yourself.

A Sin City like movie

[lideln · 8/10 · 3 April 2011]

... A good one.

We have seen only few films like this one. Sin City, Max Payne, ... A dark movie, intense, having us dive into the story. Of course the movie is not perfect, but the scenes are well filmed, the actors play very well, and it is one of a kind movie, so to speak. An important fact : despite its imperfections, the movie don't get us bored. On the contrary, we deeply follow it, trying to anticipate the next course of events. Of course I won't mention the artistic "trip" (way of filming in b&w with only one item colored). It reminds us of Sin City.

As a summary, I will say this is a good movie to watch, especially if you like movies like Sin City and Max Payne.