I don't remember how this movie even ended up on my Netflix queue. All preliminary information would identify this as something I would not like to watch.
The reality of the situation was that I was pleasantly surprised by the not-that-terribleness of this movie. Paul Walker plays a gang member who is responsible for disposing of the gang's guns after shootings. He actually hides them in his basement. Unfortunately his son's friend witnesses this and uses one of the guns on his stepfather before running away. Walker has to track down the gun and fast before the police get it and connect it to his gang.
That's about it for the story. Rest assured that the story is just about the least essential thing to the movie. Everyone is playing a cardboard cutout of a character, which everyone involved does adequately enough. There are some side routes and minor twists before getting to the end but the reality is that most of these are only decent or worse off for the movie as a whole.
Cinematography is the heart of the film and it is shot amazingly well. Crane shots and slowed down rewinds to different angles of a single scene are common place, as well as shots from the bullet's point of view. The violence is a bit graphic in this film, something I am not a huge fan of in most films, so be prepared for that. The scene sets and lighting are stylized as well, and this reaches ridiculous proportions by the climax of the movie shot in an ultraviolet-lit hockey arena.
If the movie had a better story, some characterization, and anything other than the awful cheap ending that it has I would recommend it outright. As it is, this is a decent action movie that is all style over substance.
The reality of the situation was that I was pleasantly surprised by the not-that-terribleness of this movie. Paul Walker plays a gang member who is responsible for disposing of the gang's guns after shootings. He actually hides them in his basement. Unfortunately his son's friend witnesses this and uses one of the guns on his stepfather before running away. Walker has to track down the gun and fast before the police get it and connect it to his gang.
That's about it for the story. Rest assured that the story is just about the least essential thing to the movie. Everyone is playing a cardboard cutout of a character, which everyone involved does adequately enough. There are some side routes and minor twists before getting to the end but the reality is that most of these are only decent or worse off for the movie as a whole.
Cinematography is the heart of the film and it is shot amazingly well. Crane shots and slowed down rewinds to different angles of a single scene are common place, as well as shots from the bullet's point of view. The violence is a bit graphic in this film, something I am not a huge fan of in most films, so be prepared for that. The scene sets and lighting are stylized as well, and this reaches ridiculous proportions by the climax of the movie shot in an ultraviolet-lit hockey arena.
If the movie had a better story, some characterization, and anything other than the awful cheap ending that it has I would recommend it outright. As it is, this is a decent action movie that is all style over substance.
1 comment:
I was pleasantly surprised by it as well. The only thing I didn't like was the way the kid in the bathroom scene was shot with the one creepy shadow for a split second. Just seemed really out of place from the rest of the movie.
Not a great movie, but very enjoyable and I would watch it again.
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