|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Preview by Jack Foley
THAT
old chestnut, the heist gone wrong scenario, gets a hip reworking in Knockaround
Guys, a film which has been knocking around New Line cinema's film vault since
2000, but which has been released in America to cash in on the high-profile
of its cool young cast.
Starring Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Barry Pepper and the more-established likes
of John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper, the film follows the exploits of four
young men in the nowhere town of Wibaux, Mont., as they try to retrieve a
bag stuffed with $500,000 in Mob cash in just 48 hours.
The men in question are not gangsters, merely aspiring ones, who feel it is
their birth-right to deal in the same circles as their hoodlum fathers. Needless
to say, none are truly ready for the repurcussions of their actions and quickly
find themselves out of their depth and facing a situation of escalating violence.
Knockaround Guys was penned and directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien
(who last teamed up for the absorbing Rounders, starring Matt Damon and Edward
Norton), but it has largely been slated by critics in America for playing
too easily to formula.
Yet the presence of xXx star Diesel, along with
Saving Private Ryan veteran,
Pepper, and Goldmember's Seth Green has helped
it to the number two spot in its first week of release (beaten only by Red
Dragon).
Not bad for a film which went into production on September 29, 1999 in Toronto,
Alberta, and Ontario, Canada and wrapped later that same year.
What the US critics said...
The Knockaround Guys of the title took a few heavy blows from the critics
in America, with only the Chicago Sun-Times finding anything positive to say.
Its reviewer felt that it 'bothers to develop its characters and take an interest
in them', and awarded it three stars out of four.
But the Chicago Tribune was more in keeping with the general reaction to it.
It warned that 'anyone looking for a fresh or funny take on the mob-movie
genre will find nothing but the same old cliches and stereotypes — just
younger and hunkier', while E! Online described it as 'so derivative that
it's almost shocking'.
LA Weekly felt that it was 'a pale Xerox of other, better crime movies', while
the New York Post said it is as 'lame as a knee-capped wiseguy' and awarded
it one and a half stars out of four. The New York Times, meanwhile, advised
viewers that 'when it comes to father, sons and mob life, stick to The Godfather'.
Village
Voice went a step further, saying that 'the only drama is in waiting to hear
how John Malkovich's reedy consigliere will pronounce his next line'.
The Boston Phoenix was a little more positive, saying that the film boasts
a 'few solid performances', which 'compensate for the perfunctory pastiche
of mob/teen-flick archetypes', while JoBlo's Movie Emporium awarded it six
out of 10 and described it as a 'decent "small" mob flick featuring
a lot of big names'.
Entertainment Weekly rounds off this overview, however, by declaring that
'Barry Pepper ends up turning coolness into something far too mopey to identify
with'. It awarded the film a C.
RELATED LINKS: Click here
for the movie's website...
PAST MAINSTREAM PREVIEWS: Click here
for the Lord of the Rings: Two Towers preview...
Click here for Changing Lanes preview...
Click here to find out why The Four Feathers
failed to fly high...
Click here for the lowdown on xXx...
Click here for the K-19 preview and the controversy
surrounding it...
Click here for Martin Scorsese's eagerly
anticipated epic, Gangs of New York...
Click here for S1m0ne, Pacino's blue-screen
beauty....
Charlie's Angels get all soapy for sequel. Click here...
The signs are good for Shyamalan. Click here
for Signs preview...
Bond set for his steamiest sex scenes yet. Click here...
Or click here for the lowdown on the
movie...
Hanks on the Road to Perdition. Click here...
We spy an espionage classic, The Bourne Identity. Click here...
The Matrix Reloaded, the hype begins now. Click here...
Insomnia - Another unforgettable thriller from Memento's Christopher Nolan?
Click here...
Red Dragon - the return of Hannibal Lecter. Click here....
