Give 'em Hell, Malone!

Former Detective and now freelance vigilante (for lack of a better description) Malone (Jane) believes he was set up and he needs to find out why the box everyone is trying to get is so important.

Watching this movie was like watching a comic book come to life. The dialogue, costumes, and cars from the 1940s made it so. I know many action movies are based on comic book super heroes, but this was going a bit too far and I almost shut it down. And, as far as I know there was no comic book based on the Malone character (I could be wrong about it, but…….I'm just saying).

There is so much shooting and killing in the beginning, sleepy time was coming upon me. But, nothing else was on tap so I stayed with it. Actually, it was quite entertaining and not bad at all. Yes, the shootings and killings went on unabated, but there was a story in there too. Honest.

For those of you (and me too) who forgot who Thomas Jane is let me fill us all in. He is the Punisher in those other movies actually based upon The Punisher comic book. Well, he may as well have been the Punisher in this one too. But as he says, he is a hard one to kill and yet, he does take some pretty hard whacks, and gunshots too. But, not to worry his mother tends to his gunshot wounds.

This Malone character doesn't mess around and neither does Doug Hutchinson appropriately called Matchstick, who likes to light fires every place he goes to kill people. Ving Rhames is a mountain of a man and if I heard it right, his character, Boulder, used to work with Malone back in the day on the job (Police work). The only thing he is afraid of is the story he believes that Malone actually reached in and took the hearts out of the people who killed his whole family and ate the hearts. And, let's not forget Gregory Harrison (as Whitmore), from some medical TV show back in the day. Well, he's a meanie in here and likes to use a baseball bat.

This is non-stop action, shootings and killings,but there is a story in here. Honest. You just have to stay with it. Okay, some twists too.

A meaningless note: sometimes Thomas Jane sounds like James Arness You know from Gunsmoke back in the day.

Oh, one more thing. There is a note at the end of the movie that says: TO BE CONTINUED. Can't wait.

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: Yes, a brief shot of Elsa Pataky in the shower. Language: Yes.

I saw this movie recently on bluray and I must say I was mightily impressed. Though I'm not usually a huge Thomas Jane fan,I must confess to be an aficionado of all things Ving Rhames. Frequently type cast as the heavy, it's expertly acted roles such as Ving's Boulder, than makes him the undisputed go to guy when you need a very scary henchmen/goon to strike fear in the hearts of audiences. Ving simply kicks ass in this noir thriller that's a tongue and cheek homage to the 40's style detective movies. Jane does a good job channeling his inner Humphrey Bogart and the action sequence are some of the best I've seen in a straight to bluray film in some time. I won't get into the particulars of the story, but I will say that the film is well acted for the most part(Jane obviously is having a good time in the role) and that there are a few plot surprises. Overall, you could do a lot worse than this with your Saturday evening.

There is much to like about Give 'em Hell Malone. It is a deliciously gorgeous and entertaining comic book noir, which manages to be both exiting and funny. This is the film that Sam Raimi's Darkman could've been if it was a bit smarter.

The plot is a bit convoluted, but you end up not really caring. It is a fun ride, and is also the first time since Deep Blue Sea in which Thomas Jane has actually impressed me. On account of his lack of variety and charisma, Jane is only cut out for soft spoken/slick persona, individualist characters. Mr. Malone qualifies.

It should also be noted that Give 'em hell Malone is occasionally played for laughs. The script throws out a lot of one liners and a few quirks, which helps turn the smile on my face into a giggle. It ain't a terribly long movie, and by the end, you may find yourself exited for more. I guess the makers are exited too because Give 'em Hell Malone ends with a 'To Be Continued'

Hard to know if and when a second part will get the green light any time soon, but I would certainly embrace it. If you can find Give 'em hell Malone, you should check it out.

During the beginning shootout scene I could sort of tell what style of movie I was in for, as the movie progressed it is just way more silly and wacky than I expected it to be. It basically is a over the top and ridiculous ambient of film-noir. The acting wasn't that good, but really annoyed me is the character Matchstick who is basically a wannabe Joker. The movie has it's moments and I liked how it didn't really take itself seriously. Thomas Jane who played Malone was okay with his role, especially cause of his voice which has the noir detective feel to it. The characters basically have a cartoon feel to it and not developed very well. And the setting is a mix of the 50's and present, I guess it's cause of the budget or for the younger audiences. The script isn't very well written, but the twist was okay since I didn't see it coming since I thought it was going to be predictable. For a straight to DVD movie, it's pretty good overall.

6.8/10

The only reason I watched this was because the guy at the video store handed it to me and told me it was really good, and I would've looked like a wuss if I had thrown it back at him & rented "Sense and Sensibility" instead. I mean, it's tough enough renting a Hugh Grant flick without the added pressure.

So I got back home feeling a bit conned & not expecting much. Boy was I surprised. From the first 30 seconds I could tell this was no ordinary action flick.

Yes, as other reviewers have noted, this film is strongly rooted in film noir. But what makes it so interesting is that it's noir without the noir. Sure, we have the lantern-jawed, emotionless anti-hero who's everything we would expect from Bogie. We have the mysterious femme fatale and the late night saxophone music to add to the mood. But the visuals, pacing and presentation is something very fresh, very vibrant & colourful, and so over-the-top violent that you can't help but feel the strong contrast against the typical 40s film noir. This was deliberate on the part of the director, just like he deliberately throws in lots of playful anachronisms: 1940s cars driving alongside modern minivans, and old time cityscape that suddenly blends into modern streets (from what I understand, that's what the city of Spokane is really like), and the list goes on. Other interesting contrasts include the tough-as-nails hero who's loving mother drops in at unexpected times. The flow of this film is anything but predictable, and that's what really keeps you hooked.

But my favourite part was the insane lineup of villains. It's so surreal, like something out of Dick Tracy. I particularly liked the character of "Matchstick", a deformed, psychotic sicko whom you gotta fall in love with. Then there's the cute/slutty lolita girl "Mauler" who can carve a man up faster than a ginsu knife commercial; yet she complains that she can't get a date. And lastly we have the incomparable Ving Rhames playing the cold-hearted assassin who slips into Gandhi-like moments of introspection and wisdom. What a wacky bunch! This is definitely a fun film. Even the excessive violence is so exaggerated you gotta love it. Here we have the best gore clichés in the business: the guy who gets hit in the mouth and spits a gallon of blood, the guy who gets knifed in the leg and gushes blood like a hose, and don't forget the best one... someone getting their heart ripped out of their chest while they're still breathing. There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek fun going here. It's almost like an action flick that makes fun of action flicks. But at the same time it's subtle enough that you can take it as a straightforward action flick. Either way, you're in for a wild ride.