One would think that putting both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the same movie would be a golden ticket to an amazing movie. Well one would be wrong. What you end up getting is a subpar film that is begging to be considered epic, but falls far short of that title. To give a short summary, Washington plays Frank Lucas, basically a drug kingpin who smuggles heroine into the country using the caskets of fallen soldiers in Vietnam. Crowe is Richie Roberts, an honest detective who is put in charge of the Narcotics Unit in the New Jersey Police Department. After way too much time, these characters eventually become connected to each other.
There aren't many good things to say about this film. The main problem I had with it was length. An interesting story that could've easily been told in an hour and a half was spread out into a dull, sleep inducing, near 3 hour mess. It seems nobody told director Ridley Scott that if one was going to make such a long movie, he should try to throw in something exciting in order to the keep the viewers wanting more. Maybe the Coen Brothers wouldn't mind taking the time to teach him.
The only thing comparable to the wretched length of this mediocre movie was the incredibly poor performance given by Russell Crowe. To say he sleepwalked through the role would be an understatement. In fact, not until there was 20 minutes left in the movie did he begin to show any sign of real acting. It's as if he said one day, "Oh wait, this is supposed to be a respectable movie. Let me put forth some effort". Unfortunately, it was too little too late, as the movie previous 2 hours and 10 minutes had already destroyed the viewers interest.
If i were to suggest this film, (which I'm not), it would only be because of Denzel Washington's great performance and of the final 20 minutes, which I must admit was quite exciting. Sadly, the ending nor his performance make up for the 2 hours and 10 minutes that precede the final events, making the previous compliment completely moot. Please, don't watch this movie. My rating: (4/10)
There aren't many good things to say about this film. The main problem I had with it was length. An interesting story that could've easily been told in an hour and a half was spread out into a dull, sleep inducing, near 3 hour mess. It seems nobody told director Ridley Scott that if one was going to make such a long movie, he should try to throw in something exciting in order to the keep the viewers wanting more. Maybe the Coen Brothers wouldn't mind taking the time to teach him.
The only thing comparable to the wretched length of this mediocre movie was the incredibly poor performance given by Russell Crowe. To say he sleepwalked through the role would be an understatement. In fact, not until there was 20 minutes left in the movie did he begin to show any sign of real acting. It's as if he said one day, "Oh wait, this is supposed to be a respectable movie. Let me put forth some effort". Unfortunately, it was too little too late, as the movie previous 2 hours and 10 minutes had already destroyed the viewers interest.
If i were to suggest this film, (which I'm not), it would only be because of Denzel Washington's great performance and of the final 20 minutes, which I must admit was quite exciting. Sadly, the ending nor his performance make up for the 2 hours and 10 minutes that precede the final events, making the previous compliment completely moot. Please, don't watch this movie. My rating: (4/10)
Posts
this is a really good review of a really bad movie
ReplyDeletep.s.
you're such a hardass
<3
I would like to make things perfectly clear before I begin this response that I think you're rather homosexual. That being said, i will alter my previous review a bit and say that I agree in a very slight aspect with you but I mostly disagree. I think you are nitpicking at a overall decent/good movie. The main flaw in this movie was its length, yes, but the good parts outweighed this by a lot. For example in terms of character development, the two main characters are fabulously developed over the process of the film's length, you feel like you know both Crowe and Washington by the end. Crowe was very laidback throughout the film but that was what his role called for, he was a straight-edge good guy cop who got taken advantage of but he won in the end. In the later part of the movie when there were more action scenes, Crowe was able to totally go into action mode, of course when the character called for it. It was no one's fault but the directors really, but even that, a hot headed loose cannon kind of cop simply would not fit.
ReplyDeleteI think that while the movie was lengthy it certainly was not bad in any way shape or form, the majority of the film is centered around Washington who plays his part amicably. I think this movie was deserving of a 7.5/10 or 8/10
I want on the record that I hate Ruby Dee with a passion
ReplyDeleteDenzel is such eye-candy. i like my men the same way i like my coffee. Hot, dark, and in my mouth.
ReplyDelete