Famous actors, intriguing plot, enthusiastic reviews, on the one hand. On the other hand, the director did not shoot anything outstanding ... no, do not poke my nose in No Compromise with Schwarzenegger, as in my memory it was the weakest film in the career of a powerful Austrian. A writer who only appeared in a couple of TV shows. Well, the fact that this film did not get its moment of fame and remember it mainly those people who watched it in their youth. And yet the good outweighed the bad, or was it just curiosity? It doesn't matter, though. More importantly, did the film meet expectations? Well, I'll go against the system again and say no. Of course, there will be details below, but are they necessary? After all, people who will wander to the page with this film, watched the film a long time ago, and childhood memories left a long and bright memory. Let's see. In the meantime, let me introduce our guest today, the Crime Zone.
The story tells the story of four people who decided to rob a jewelry store, which for some reason in this film is called a bank. Let's blame the illiteracy of the main characters. Two of the four heroes have a past. Unbelievable, isn't it? One of them has a wife and two children, and he earns money by stealing cars. And the second ... apparently, also has a family, but because of his disorganized life, the guy faces a prison term. It would seem a good plot for the plot, but so no. Actors are so bad, so gray, so emotionless, you know, this movie doesn't need them at all. And if everything is clear with the Mexican Ued Dominguez and one of his grins gives him a “genius” actor, then Timmoti Hutton is hurtful - the actor is not bad. However, I am not the only one who understands that these two are not necessary in this film. This is understood by the actors and the screenwriter themselves, and therefore these two will not have special screen time, which is fair.
The creators of the picture decided to focus on two other participants in the robbery – the shirt of the guy performed by Stephen Dorff known to most of those present due to the role of Deacon Frost from the film “Blade”, as well as a harsh bandit performed by Harvey Keitel, who does not need an introduction. How will he focus? These two were just told to play face. Yes, your characters do not have characters, there are no normal dialogues, and they do not communicate with each other, but you are talented guys – come up with something. Alas, but such a fiery speech is not able to inspire even a child, let alone good actors, and therefore both play half-heartedly, hoping to fall behind. Yes, I agree that in modern films, in particular in all sorts of blockbusters, even this is an infrequent guest, but the film was shot in the nineties, and if so, then the demand is appropriate.
Uh, their relationship? There's nothing remarkable about this. The hero of Stephen Dorff, in his greed, kills two of his accomplices, those very characters of empty spaces and wounds the hero Harvey Keitel ... and where the bullet fell is not reported. It seems that Keitel’s hero was bleeding, but at the same time the wounds were not shown to us. All right, let's blame it on the magic of Hollywood. Naturally, everything will revolve around the fact that one character will try to kill another, but if in most films of this genre the viewer will reveal the characters and characteristics of the characters, then everything was limited to the fact that one person is slightly better than another. Not bad.
Well, that the viewer was not bored by the director, and with him the screenwriter, decided to plunge into the abyss of stereotypes. The film will feature a strip bar with nude ladies, some of whom are even pretty. There will be streets that seem to be an extension of sewage canals. There will be gangs of Japanese and niggers... sorry, African-American. It will. There won't be just one thing: intrigue. Yes, Harvey Keitel's character walks around town and beats people up in an attempt to find out where the man is, what dumped him. Yeah, Steven Dorff's hero is gonna hire a couple of ghouls to kill his ex-accomplice. But the fact is that the world shown in the film will revolve around these two characters and if one of them is removed from the equation, the movie will fall apart, however, if it is not better to remove it.
And it won't get better for two reasons, even three, but I've already mentioned the dialogue problem. First, the film has no dramatic or comedic component. They just don't exist. Yes, I understand that this is not a mandatory guest in crime films, but it is a good stub that can distract the viewer from a weak script and no less weak acting. Militants from the eighties will not let you lie. Secondly, the action is poorly staged and is not able to hold the screen. There are few shootings in the film and they are usually preceded by an unexpected shot. Unexpected for the heroes of the film, not for the viewer. The viewer just expects that now the shot will sound and is not deceived in their expectations. The shootings themselves take place too quickly and, as a rule, extra characters die in them, to which no one cares.
However, it was not fair not to mention the advantages of the movie. There's exactly three of them. First, Famke Janssen. The only actress who puts her soul into her character, despite the fact that she is given, from strength, ten minutes of screen time. But her play and her emotions make you believe in the reality of her character. Secondly, there will be exactly one musical composition in the film, which masterfully pumps up the atmosphere and hits the soul, but at the same time this melody sounds at an inappropriate moment when nothing happens on the screen, which causes cognitive dissonance. Thirdly, operator work. Yes, the action is fleeting, yes, the actors play on the back, but the operator still manages to find the most successful camera angles and lighting angles, which is why the film does not bring boredom and just enjoy the work of Thomas Burstyn, and not the adventures / misadventures of the characters of the tape.
Outcome? We're in front of another passing film. After which you can pass the evening, once again admire your favorite actors, but at the same time this film does not bring anything new. It does not intrigue and does not leave a fingerprint in memory, so I would still advise you to refrain from viewing. After all, we have one life and it will be better if we spend it watching really decent films.
4 out of 10