Knockaround Guys

Almost all of my recent reviews have been very negative, but this movie is worth watching if you are a Vin Diesel fan.

Summary: Matty is the son of Benny, a mobster and he is as bad as they come. As a kid he is put to the test of killing someone, but fails, therefore his father keeps him away from the life of a mobster, but now as a grown up, Matty can't get a job anywhere due to his father's reputation, which gets on his last nerve. So he decides to talk to his father about letting him work for him. Benny puts him on a task, to collect some money in a bag and to come back with it. Doesn't sound so difficult. Matty meets up with his childhood friends, Scarpa, also a son of a gangster, but trying hard to concentrate on his restaurant, his cousin Marbles who has always been the screw up and Taylor, the guy that everyone brings in when they need to scare the heck out of someone. So Marbles has a plane, he gets the money, but in Montana he lands for gas, only there are 2 hillbilly cops there, that intimidate Marbles, as he feels they are on to him and during his panic he puts down the bag of money with other luggage that is being put on another plane. Only he is too late to retrieve the bag so he calls upon his friends to help find the missing bag, which didn't make it to the other plane...so who took the bag?

Seth Green plays the messed up Marbles, who wants responsibility, but doesn't know the meaning of the word. Vin Diesel was great in this movie as a tough guy Taylor, he played his part perfectly. John Malkovich was the ruthless right hand of Benny and he was great! As for the roles of Matty and Scarpa, they were ok. The plot was a little weak, but got better after the first 20 minutes or so.

I rate this movie 7/10.

Knockaround Guys was a great movie. I went with a group of girlfriends expecting to drool over the handsome eye-candy, but I was amazed at how I paid more attention to the storyline than I did at the physical attributes of the cast...and as a female attending a mob-movie--that's not an easy task (at least, to some people!)

Did anyone really expect it to be some great epic movie? Seriously, the storyline was different, the actors were believable, and considering this movie was released over a year later than expected, it was awesome to see such a great cast put together. Barry Pepper carried this movie so well, and he did an absolutely fabulous job playing Matty. I am looking forward to his upcoming roles. Pre-XXX Vin D was perfectly suited for the role, and his performance, I think, was excellent. The movie wasn't about flashing big muscles as everyone keeps pointing out. Yes, it had something to do with the role, but it wasn't highlighted in a 'gratuitous' fashion like those pretty-faced female Bond-girls.

I really enjoyed this movie...but it's not going to change your life. It wasn't meant to. This film was an interesting twist from the usual mob-movies we've seen in the past. I highly recommend it.

I can't believe how bad this movie is. The script is laughable.

All I can say about the performances is, the post office must have been busy when it was made, because it looks to me like the actors just mailed them in. My guess is, John Malkovich couldn't decide whether to play it like "The Godfather" or "Johnny Dangerously." His performance leans more towards Johnny Dangerously. Seth Green is the best of the lot. I was going to put in some info about the unoriginal, uninteresting, ending, but I won't. If you go see this movie, rest assured, the ending dones eventually arrive.

You can feel about two ways when you're watching this movie. Either you make yourself very angry about all the stuff this film steals shameless from other classics in the genre...or you can just sit back and enjoy and don't bother about all the rip-off elements. When I saw it, I was in a 'sit back and enjoy'-mood so my thoughts on this are rather positive. This film is well made and contains all the elements you expect. Like I said, some things are stolen obviously ( the execution GoodFellas-style, the True Romance shoot-out at the end...) but there are at least as much good things to tell about it as well. This film may count on a class A cast. Especially the older generation is great. John Malkovich, even when this guy is acting half as good as he usually does ( like in this movie ) he is still very entertaining. And naturally, Dennis Hopper and Tom Noonan are good as always. There's also a lot of talent in the younger generation: Barry Pepper, Seth Green. And this is even Vin Diesels best film ( besides Saving Private Ryan, but I'm not counting that one) Vin doesn't have too much lines, so that's positive. Overall, this film will be forgotten soon, but it's enjoyable while it lasts

With the negative response from critics for this movie I was concerned that this would be rubbish, especially when it was released straight to video in my country (UK). As a Diesel fan I had high expectations for this film but was aware he had a supporting part.

However I was actually pleasantly surprised that the film was actually fairly enjoyable. The story is basic, about a mobsters son (Barry Pepper) who has grown up disparaged by the life of crime his family are involved in, but in his adults days he is unable to get the sort of legit career he wants, as a sports agent, because no-one will hire him for the simple reason that he is related to Dennis Hoppers character. Anyway he resigns himself to the fact that he can't go legit and that working for his dad is the way forward, but since his father only has enough faith in him to pick up his sandwiches, Matty is frustrated and begs his father to give him some more responsibility, he gets support here from his uncle Teddy played by John Malkovich. He gets his responsibility of course but things go awry, by fault of Matt's friend Marbles played by Seth Green. Half a million pounds has now gone missing in a small town, with some fairly clichéd hicks. Matty takes two of his friends over to assist Marbles in getting the money back, and on ensures a tale of deception and murder, with dirty cops, double dealing mobsters, and unwelcoming locals.

It's a fairly simple film that is nicely placed and very well acted. There are comical moments and some moments of character depth, particularly with central character Matty. There are really any surprises in this flick but it is on the most part entertaining. Barry Pepper is very good in the central role as is Vin Diesel as his best friend Taylor, who offers support and advice as well as muscle when it's needed. John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper are good in their small roles although they are cruising really but it is Tom Noonan who steals the show in a delightfully seedy role as the bent small town sheriff Decker.

All in all this is worth a rental, if you're a fan of Diesel like me you'll appreciate his performance in a role that has more depth to it than XXX. 6/10