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Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

bpress54-212-5197 Whoever decided that Tim Hutton, Wade Domniguez, and especially Stephen Dorff would play believable bad guys is clearly an idiot. Dorff is nothing but a punk no talent jack wipe. I'd be more afraid of a rabid deer mouse than I would be of this little candy a** douche bag. And Keitel is kind of wash; he plays the same Type A a**hole in all of his roles. And as if anyone would be worried by a dude like him.

drjgardner There are so many inaccurate references to "film noir" from reviewers that I'm prompted to write this review simply to correct them. Though this film has some "film noir" elements, the essential elements are completely missing. The best film noir features an "innocent" person who gets dragged into crime. Usually it's as a result of a knowingly bad decision, but it comes from the seduction of a femme fatale.Both these elements are missing. The main character (played marvelously by Harvey Keitel) is a lifelong criminal. There's nothing "innocent" about him. Nor is there any femme fatale who double or triple crosses him or who seduces him into the misadventure.The film not only lacks the essential hero (or anti-hero) and femme fatale, it lacks the visual style of most film noir.Finally, the film lacks the requisite ending to ever be classified as film noir.Of course there are some film noir elements. It takes place in an urban center (LA) and dwells in the less upscale parts of town. A lot of the action takes place at night. At the core of the film is a double cross (though it isn't the femme fatale and there are no triple crosses) and we get introduced to a motley crew of seedy low lifes. There's a good bit of violence, but truth be told, most classic film noir are not nearly as violent as this film.It's probably best to view this as a "revenge" film, or more accurately a crime revenge drama.

jmillerdp Oh boy! Another "Heist Gone Wrong" movie! And, wouldn't you think that Harvey Keitel would be getting tired of these? After "Reservoir Dogs," you'd think he'd want a break!But, not here. The heist is planned, carried out, and, guess what?!, there is instant double crossing, shooting and everything else. Heavens! The second that happened, I pretty much checked out, and just waited the rest of the movie out.And, of course, it's a "final heist" for Keitel's character. So, that naturally means that everything's going to go wrong, guaranteed!The film is entirely on the shoulders of Harvey Keitel's performance. His fearless brand of acting is what make the film worth watching.But, it's standard plot makes it not worth it otherwise.****** (6 Out of 10 Stars)

dev-aryap This is pretty much a noir revenge story, with stone loner Roy Egan(the great Harvey Keitel) navigating the high and low of seedy LA, wending his way through dive bars, upscale LA law firms, and enduring beat downs from Asian and black gangs while pursuing THE BIG PAYBACK, son. As JB, the godfather of soul might say, "His patience thin, he want revenge." Harvey reluctantly joins a heist crew led by little brother Hutton that will knock off high-end jewelry store connected to the Russian mob. The brutally executed caper is successful, but then Skip Kovic (Dorff) goes turncoat, cancels some of the crew, including little brother, and now Harvey is out for blood. The big man looks good, obviously still hitting the weights, with some Risky Business shades and tieless Man in the Arrow shirt look. Okay, so he is in his late 50's, with a bit of a gut, and he walks with a little swayback. But, you know what, this is the man who pulled off "Fingers" son, and he would dominate the screen even if he walked around LA reading from the Congressional registry. Best scene: In his small hotel room after the post-robbery bloodbath, Harvey cuts through any Hamlet-style vacillation by pounding a card table with escalating fury, overturning it, sending out an unholy moan, and then setting out to kick some serious A. Only Harvey could turn a wordless moan and the act of overturning a card table into a statement of existential despair. Second best: when the big man gives a slimy bartender a beat down. About this second scene: post-robbery, Harvey goes to a hoodlum hangout, and tries to bribe the bartender for the whereabouts of Skip Kovic (Dorff). The bartender, who we know is in the know, tells Harvey to f- off, and Harvey steps back, squints, and waits, cigarette dangling. That goof with his silly goatee starts scrambling forward from the bar. Harvey administers a serious beat-down, KEEPING HIS CIGARETTE IN HIS MOUTH THE WHOLE TIME. Oh, and he picks up a gun for good measure. Now that is MOVIE MAKING, son. Irvin could have 86'd Eliot Gould and Michael Jai White, and the other Hollywood B-types trying to give the movie some bogus street cred. I buy Eliot Gould as a mobster as easily as I can buy a slurpee using a $3bill earned from my paper route on Mars. More of the stupendously sexy Famke Jannsen. And a nice cameo with Lucy Liu as a stripper with a SM motif. If Irvin was trying to channel the spirit of Michael Mann, he might have added more dialogue and made the Dorff character more complex. Still, I'll be here when City of 2 (Electric Boogaloo) comes out.