Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Robert J. Maxwell Lawrence Fishburn is an ex agent of the CIA or whatever the company is called in this story -- the IRT, the BMT, or the IND. His skills are needed however by Frank Langella, who runs an industrial espionage outfit, aided in more ways than one by an agreeably coiffed and precisely groomed Ellen Barkin. There is a bit of wet work involved and nobody trusts anyone else except that the boss, Langella, trusts his chief of staff, Barkin. who later will aid in Langella's murder for the sake of power and pelf. The sexual scenes are a bit graphic and ignores racial sensibilities.The plot isn't anything special but two features of the movie are worth noting. First, the performances on the part of all the principles is just fine. Ellen Barkin is a surprise as a suave and elegant femme fatale. Fishburn is slow and considerate. (This is not an action movie.) And Frank Langella is outstanding in whatever role he takes on.The second admirable element is the stylization of both the sets and the dialog. It's not overdone, not inaccessible, but not entirely realistic either. It's done just enough, like a classic cheese soufflé.It presents a pretty lousy picture of humankind, Schopenhaueresque, but -- well.

SnoopyStyle Nelson Crowe (Laurence Fishburne) is a CIA operative who was downsized after a dispute over a missing bribe of $50k in gold. Vic Grimes (Frank Langella) hires him for his company "The Toolshed" which blackmails and bribes for their corporate clients. Grimes and Margaret Wells (Ellen Barkin) are working to bribe State Supreme Court Judge Beach for their client Walter Curl. Wells comes to Crowe with a scheme to take over The Toolshed from Crowe.It's a lot of noir moody style. There is not much attention paid to provide any rooting interesting for the characters. It's a lot of cold distant characters and loads of dark hard-boiled cool style. It's so cool that there is no heat in it even with the sizzling Barkin. There is not enough excitement or tension. These are great actors and they almost make this work. The schemes, blackmail, brides and double-cross do get to be questionable. The problem is that I stop caring about halfway through.

gridoon Underrated, gripping thriller was a big box-office failure but it deserves a second chance on home video. Tightly plotted (there's always something happening, but the complications never get too confusing) and smoothly directed, it's a movie that knows how to keep you absorbed, even though its nihilistic ending is slightly cliched. Give it a try. (***)

smatysia This film was really neither very good or very bad. Laurence Fishburne plays a laid-off CIA agent peddling his skills in the private sector. Ellen Barkin is pretty, as always, but she really didn't convince me in her part. The film is a study in crosses, double-crosses, and maybe triple-crosses. You can pass this one up, there's probably something better on.