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Filed Under: Film, Reviews | Article Tags : DVD review
By: The Dweeb
September 2003
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It has an interesting storyline, a bunch of A-list actors, some twists and turns that are supposed to keep you interested, but to me, this film heads south pretty quickly. Clint, you are letting me down man. In my oh so humble opinion, I would say Eastwood is getting too old for these types of roles. He’s no Dirty Harry anymore that’s for sure. For such a unique premise the film turns out pretty bland, and suffers from some poor directing I think.
Sure, Clint Eastwood can do the job, but his gravelly voice is really starting to get on my nerves. Constantly clutching his chest in faux chest pains, of course those might have been real chest pains. Maybe he should stay behind the camera more often. It just didn’t seem right that a senior citizen is chasing down criminals on the streets of LA. The film starts off slowly, and once it achieves a moderate pace, you think you are on the road to a crime that needs a lot of brainpower to solve. But, in the end I am let down by yet another ridiculous shootout scene to close the film.
Now, I understand the need for the suspension of disbelief in watching films, but considering this could be a real world scenario, I had a hard time swallowing the fact that Eastwood’s character is 60 days post a heart transplant and he’s out of the hospital. Now, since when have heart transplants become routine around here? Last time I checked, new heart patients should not be diving out of the way of cars, running, shooting guns, and having sex.
Another beef I had was with the acting. Come on people! This is a movie, not a high school play. The overacting in here made it seem like these people were right off the street and not award winning actors. Anjelica Houston’s Dr. Bonnie Fox did not work at all, she couldn’t convince me she went to medical school, especially all that huffing and puffing she does. Would a real doctor want to kick a patient out? Didn’t seem plausible.
I also couldn’t take the short tempered Hispanic actors in here. Does anyone smile anymore? All Paul Rodriguez does in here is swear and make sarcastic comments. The same goes for Wanda De Jesus, she had an extremely short fuse, with her arms flailing about constantly. Watch out, you might punch out Clint Eastwood. The icing on the cake was the gratuitous make out scene with Eastwood. I could see that coming from a mile away, pass me the Viagra.
The only standout performance comes from Jeff Daniels. He plays an excellent boat bum/serial killer. Oops? Did I give it away? He was probably the only one in here who is actually acting. That’s pretty sad considering how many veteran actors are in here.
On a positive note, the sound mix is pretty well done on this disc. The end scene on the boat is the best with all the bullets wizzing by. Made me turn my head a few times to see where it was coming from. The disc comes with all the standard extras, nothing new here. The usual trailers and documentaries are present. But the one feature I don’t understand is the “Conversations in Spanish” part. What is the point of this? It’s just the Hispanic actors talking in Spanish about the movie and their characters. I didn’t think the focus of the film was on Mexican culture or did I miss something?
Needless to say, I was very disappointed with this package.
Reviewer’s Opinion: BORROW IT!!
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