Modern Mickey Rourke is interesting for its unpretentious choice of films and genres. Simply put, Mickey takes on any job. Most importantly, he does not take away his talent for acting and conceptually marginal characters. Despite the fact that Rourke constantly gets into various situations, it can be considered that his career has been set, and as if lately his producers have always tried to get him out of any troubles. As with Kill Shot, Rourke plays a bit of an ethnic Indian reservation, a hitman who philosophizes about life and death, about blood craft, and how to live in this world, doesn’t care about the rest. In one of his very successful days, Mickey Rourke and his accomplices, including his brother, do one thing, not a very good deed, and the finale ends a little predictable, as usual wet, the witnesses remain, Rourke, realizing the depth of non-trivial positions, runs away. And trying to lay low, settled down in the suburbs, where he found a friend, a drug-addicted kid. His Thrush identifies with his dead brother, but for any self-respecting bandit to finish the job is a matter of honor. The witnesses are still alive. Having enlisted the support of an extremely unstable friend, Blackbird quickly takes up the damage to the lives of potential, future, victims.
Seeing Mickey as an ethnic Indian is extremely cool, and unusual, because he looks grotesque in this coat, with pigtails, jewelry and a sophisticated look. Plus, Mr. Rourke gained a couple of dozen pounds, apparently as a result of another plastic surgery or after it, and therefore looks impressive. Joseph-Levitt is a great company for him, because Levitt, in the early days of his adult career, even before the beginning of Nolan's Beginning, was very good at playing various marginals. And here he is, as it were, a supporting role, and a comedic element, I would say comically dramatic, because in him black Drozd sees identification of his pain, the loss of his own beloved brother who was also a drug addict, and therefore does not give him offense. The interaction of the actors at the same time turned out to be the most standard, that is, stupid Gordon-Levitt, and a very angry, bombastic Rourke, who is first of all for business, and only then for entertainment, in the spirit of destroying living spaces, and laundering money on this. Drozd strives to convey to the new partner the essence of his ideas, while trying to catch up with his dead brother.
Well, there's also Thomas Jane, who, by all parameters, has to give slaps to everyone who meets and crosses. Impose the old, good, eternal, but unfortunately, Thomas Jane went too deep into whining about his husband bored at work, and the action from him very, very little he got the role of a brick family man, and therefore everything looks very dull and uninteresting that is, on the one hand there is Mickey Rourke with his partner and on the other side there is Thomas Jane and Rosario, she pulls the film on herself and not Jane. And it's sad because a couple who are shaking with fear instead of stocking up on a gun and preparing to strike back. That's what you want to see in the movie instead of watching a couple go through their lives trying to get justice under the law. And criminals try to somehow catch them by surprise, in between similar quarrels of a domestic nature, and this occupies the main lion's share of the film because of what in periodic boredom falls. Only Rourke amuses, after all, his acting talent cannot be taken away from him, well, I will tirelessly praise him.
Huge, wise, ironic, and completely out of touch with the main, sexy man Thomas Jane because Jane is tired, sleepy and inactive. Dawson, unlike the on-screen spouse, works as it should, tries to cause a bit of empathy, and it is interesting to observe the character that is revealed. Probably the main problem voiced above, all four actors despite the fact that the actors of the first magnitude do not interact at all, that is, they seem to be in the frame, but everything proceeds as separate stories that are not related to each other. In fact, this is a really cool attempt by the producers of Mickey Rourke, to return the actor to his former glory, on the image of a new negative character, with unusual ethnic roots, but nothing more, Thomas Jane as a usually guest celebrity, and the rest of the moments have no weight, and drama much less. It’s a shame, but if the director added at least a little bit of interaction, at least a little more action, instead of panoramic views of the snow-covered suburbs and other urban chaos, then it could be a really cool crime thriller, instead, well, middle class.
Mickey Rourke made his triumphant comeback with the acclaimed film “Wrestler” by Darren Aranofsky, and collected many awards, which was well deserved, so this film “Killer” also attracted Mickey Rourke with its participation in it, but the participation of Thomas Jane was also a priority for me, because I have repeatedly stated that Thomas Jane is a very underrated actor, the blessing that his collection has interesting and iconic roles (The Punisher”, “Deep Blue Sea”).
Mickey Rourke plays a character nicknamed Blackbird who is a killer and commits murders for money. A couple of Thomas Jane is Diana Lane, they together play the role of the Coulsons, who accidentally found themselves in the path of a killer and his friend Richie (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and from that moment they become the object of persecution by killers.
The first thing I want to pay attention to is the dynamics of the relationship between actors Mickey Rourke and very young at that time Joseph Gordon-Levitt, especially given their significant age difference. 'Blackbird' is a calm experienced and thoughtful killer who does not talk much, and Richie, on the contrary, is an inexperienced 'weak-minded' guy who, if anything, can talk anything without thinking about it, with this and in a fight will go dangerously (then you will all see this yourself), also Richie has a girlfriend Donna performed by Rosario Dawson, I can not say much about her acting, since her participation in the film was not very much, the main attention was focused on the characters of Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon, and I can not say anything about Jane, but the actor I can not say anything about them, but I am a bad actor, and I can not say about Jane, but my wife, but I can not say anything about Jane, but my wife, but I can not say about her role, I can not say anything. Joseph Gordon Levitt (perhaps not very familiar to many at the time) is remembered in the film for his performance, but only because of his appearance and manner of speech, and as I said above, he was "stupid" in the film. But Mickey Rourke was a bit disappointing, I wanted to see him be more violent and more aggressive in the film, which I think was not enough for his character, but for me personally, as I think his involvement in the film was enough for many after his long oblivion. I was also a bit disappointed by the ending of the film, it was very simple for me, but despite that the film came out quite average, and it was nice to see Mickey Rourke, Thomas Jane and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
The Coulsons are going through a divorce. Accidentally, they disrupted the plans of two killers to run into a real estate company. One of the killers Armand Degasus always eliminates the witnesses of his crimes who saw his face. Together with his unstable partner Richie Nicks, he begins a hunt for the spouses.
The crime drama by John Madden ("Shakespeare in Love) is based on the novel by Elmore Leonard. Despite the general plot predictability, the film looks quite cheerful and I did not have a desire to rewind. Mostly due to a decent cast.
Perhaps the main star of the film is Mickey Rourke in the role of an Indian killer Armand Degasus, nicknamed Blackbird. Rourke's hero is grim and ruthless, but with his own code. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays his partner, the chatty scumbag Richie Nicks. Both of them made a curious duo. Not bad look in the role of spouses Coulson Thomas Jane and Diane Lane. It is also worth noting the presence of Rosario Dawson in the role of a friend of Nicks, adoring Elvis.
A good crime movie with a decent actor and a somewhat template, but strong plot. Nothing special, but you can see it.
Claimed in the name of the killer, dense brown-faced man nicknamed Blackbird (Mickey Rourke) after another case comes to the bungalow of his grandmother in the hope of becoming a respectable Indian and selling real estate. The quiet life of the killer in retirement, of course, does not add up: the grandmother, as it turns out, died a year ago, the neighbor, also an Indian, seems not at all happy with his appearance, the customer, angry that Drozd, along with the “client” soaked up and the girl informant refuses to pay, but in addition threatens with violence. Here, in such an unenviable position, Drozda is found by a moronic bandit with an apparently non-random name Richie (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and ties him into his next small business with an indecently small one, especially for a killer with experience, cash. Things are not going as expected: Richie began to brandish a gun, the alleged victim bludgeoned both raiders, who, of course, did not receive any money. Now, Drozd and his goofy partner are stalking their divorced spouses (Thomas Jane and Diane Lane) without five minutes, because he doesn’t like it when someone sees his face.
The film is based on the book of the ideological inspirer of a good half of postmodern directors, Elmore Leonard irritates not with a banal plot - Leonard always wrote not "about what", but "about how" - and not even the absence of at least some logic among the heroes - the whole film is a professional killer with dubious motivation tiredly wandering around with a caricature robber-loser. It is disappointing that frame by frame all hopes for the appearance of a new "Jackie Brown" or at least "Get Shorty" are destroyed, seemingly indestructible authorities from Leonard to Rourke are overthrown.
Moreover, everything that happens before the credits (and this is the first five minutes) looks promising - it seems to be some good samurai action movie with excellent dialogue, textured characters, dynamic, after all. The credits themselves are promising - here, as in any film adaptation of Elmore Leonard, the star chases. All the more surprising that all this actor's constellation is more like the second lineup - Rourke convincingly gives Steven Seagal, Levitt, playing Richie, decided to match the name and plays the character from "Big Kush", the new Rodriguez mascot, the actress Dawson logically looks like an episodic Tarantine character, Diane Lane plays the familiar role of "yppies in danger". Among these doubles unwittingly, Thomas Jane looks very wild - when the elusive vigilante from "The Punisher" tries to convince that he is a builder trying to become a real estate agent, and at the same time, by inertia, crosses his arms, demonstrating Vandamm muscles, you understand that these hands he simply has nowhere to go - a gun in them is only in the last three minutes, and before that, some Ben Affleck is seen in place of a potential new kickboxer.
Director John Madden, who previously filmed the plays of David Auburn ("Proof") and Tom Stoppard ("Shakespeare in Love"), not finding anything in Leonard that he used to consider highly artistic, apparently decided to simply send greetings to the rabid militants of the nineties. Therefore, Leonard’s signature text, like “My name is Nix, only through X, and not as a singer Stevie Nicks”, the actors filter through their teeth – and they and Madden, he simply interferes.
As a result, the film, as the director probably wanted, turns out to be the very low-budget action movie that videotapes must be huddled in abundance at every second on some mezzanine between building materials and skis. And with such films, bribes are smooth, be the author of the original source, even Leonard, even Shakespeare in love. In the end, the same “Jackie Brown”, for example, is unlikely to have anyone dusting on the mezzanine.
6.4 out of 10
I love the work of Mickey Rourke. He's one of the few actors who can really get into a role and play it right. In this film, Mickey plays a killer named Blackbird. He is right and knows the rules of his work. But one day he meets Richie Nicks, with whom they soon become partners. And then one day, when the thrush and the Knicks go to work, they crash it through the fault of Carmen and Wayne Coulson. And that was their biggest mistake, because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The killers start hunting them.
As for the plot, the idea is very good, it can make a very interesting movie. In fact, it can be seen that the director, who is John Madden, known for such films as Shakespeare in Love and Proof, did well with his work, as well as the cameraman Caleb Deschanel (nominated for five Oscars for Best Operator), showing the dark atmosphere of the film, as well as the life of the Blackbird. As for the cast:
Mickey Rourke is a beautiful game of a ruthless and intelligent assassin who has his own views on life. For me, he looks very good with the Indian appearance with which he was in this film.
Joseph Gordon-Levit: If you think he’s a quiet guy in this movie, you’re wrong, because he’s the scumbag Richie Nicks, who’s really crazy and not that dumb. He is engaged in petty robberies, extortion and other nefarious affairs, since he does not know another, and is unlikely to want to. When he meets a thrush, he becomes more of a hindrance than a companion who wants to help him. The way he kills innocent people is crazy. Joseph played perfectly, showing all the madness of his character.
The movie was good, but no more. I would love to see Tony Scott in this project, who originally wanted to shoot this picture, and since I am familiar with his work, I would not doubt an even better and better film, as Tony is perfectly able to make real and beautiful movies. The actors really liked the game, everyone played very competently, a good atmosphere of the film, the work of the operator. If you think you're going to see mass shootings, rivers of blood, etc. in this movie, then you just skip this movie, as it's a good thriller that has just a little bit of it. I would recommend watching.
Probably, many did not like the film just because in the bandits-scumbags there is no touch of mystery and a halo of romance. They do not want to imitate (in everyday, image plan, of course), as they do not want to be like an alcoholic neighbor with a red face and pood fists.
The film is closer to life than a movie thriller. And the FBI is far from astute and all-seeing (if not frankly malpractice), and criminals kill for mere pennies and incomprehensible pseudo-philosophical “ideas”.
Good Ricci the scumbag, who has gone from a semi-village spanish bully to a complete crook, who himself does not really know where and why he needs money (after all, they are not going to rob a bank).
A good couple, unsuccessfully trying to glue together a long broken life. It is a pity that Thomas Jane is not shown in detail - I know this type of man well. They work well with them where you need to do something with your hands, and not sit in the office.
Mickey Rourke played a killer who, frankly, has nothing behind him. Zero. No matter how he tried to justify himself with banal phrases, like “look at me under a crust of shit” (" love us black girls), in general – purely Russian). There's not a damn thing under that crust, usually. Emptiness. And to play emptiness with external masculinity is not everyone can.
That Mickey Rourke. You can't take a guy's talent. Very good part. Rourke brilliantly played an old-age killer with his own principles and views on life. The guy wants to retire and earn bread in a less bloody way, but the last task ruined him. More precisely, his unforgivable stupidity ruined it, and I still cannot understand what made a wise Indian like Blackbird get in touch with the crazy scumbag Richie, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It’s the earliest movie I’ve seen with Levitt, and it didn’t disappoint me. Very realistic, his character begins to annoy by the middle of the film, and by the end you already hate him! Thomas Jane and Diane Lane coped with the roles well, but their pair against the background of a couple of killers slightly fade.
Overall, the movie is not bad if you know what to expect from it. This is not a dynamic action with endless chases and shootouts, this is a strong thriller that keeps the viewer in suspense until the very end. And although the finale here is quite predictable, it is still interesting how the characters will reach it.
A strong drawback that caught my eye is the illogical character of Mickey Rourke. Does the experienced killer not understand that the stupid scumbag Richie will pull him to the bottom? Or why are they so determined to kill the Coulsons when they haven't seen anything? You think they wanted to rob an office and see their faces, so what? Then there will be a few more actions of Chenoy Drozd, the motives of which I do not quite understand. Maybe it's because I'm not a killer?
Overall, a good thriller with its atmosphere and good acting. Someone may seem boring, someone passing, but, in my opinion, this picture is very good, except for some flaws.
“When you go to work, think through each step, exactly calculate everything and do not hesitate, no emotions, then you will not make a mistake. ?
She was a witness yesterday. Today is the target.
The whole plot revolves around an experienced killer named “Blackbird”. He says he shoots people, sometimes for money, sometimes for nothing. But he never leaves his face in people’s minds. But even with the most experienced masters it happens that everything goes not according to plan. .
One day, Blackbird and his slightly deranged partner Ricci gathered on a rather simple case, but the wrong ones were attacked, Carmen and Wayne Coulson prevented them from carrying out their plans, which they later bitterly regretted.
The cast was delighted. What is worth only one Mickey Rourke in the main role of the killer. Also surprised with his acting abilities Joseph Gordon-Levitt, because I did not think that he could play a stupid crazy criminal, and even so daringly treats an experienced killer. That’s where he came in, of course.
Quite an interesting plot, excellent acting, the picture itself is dynamic and not boring. Approved.