The Locksmith

The Locksmith is directed by first time director Nicholas Harvard and stars Ryan Phillipe, Kate Bosworth and Ving Rhames.

The story follows Miller a safecracker where in a job gone bad his partner and friend, Kevin Reyes gets murdered by a dirty cop and he is forced to take the fall. 10 years later he gets out and his friend Frank (Ving Rhames) urges him to make things up to his ex finance (Kate Bosworth) and his young daughter. Unfortunately things get more complicated for Miller when April Reyes shows up asking for his help. Feeling like he owes her for what he let happen to her brother he soon finds himself back in the world he thought he left behind. To make matters worse the dirty cop who got him sent to prison in the first place is still out there looking to make Miller's life a living hell.

Let's start with the good. For a first time feature by Nicholas Harvard this is pretty competently directed and actually looks like a real movie which isn't something I can't say about other DTV movies. The core cast here consisting of Ryan Phillipe, Kate Bosworth and Ving Rhames all do a good job and are beleievable in their roles. Unfortunately what holds this movie back is the script and generic story. A case of "too many cooks in the kitchen" working together to create a project somehow simultaneously convoluted and playing things a little too safe to really amount to much. Maybe not as totally devoid of charm as you'd expect, but still really only ever vaguely competent at best and mediocre at worst.

In the end The Locksmith is just bland all around despite committed lead performances from both Ryan Phillipe and Kate Bosworth.

Director Nicohalas Harvard tries very much to keep the movie as an action thriller but still fails to attempt as the story fells flat in the end. Movie starts with a basic plot character buildup is good but just feel average as there very much limited characters are involved in this storyline. Locksmith profession is well utilized in the film and that's one of the thing that keeps the movie engaging. Performance of lead cast is good but there's nothing much to do except for basic character play. There's a lot of good scenes that director can add in the film whether it's action sequences or story telling but all were missing. But still it's definitely a one time watch flick as movie is engaging screenplay is good but don't expect much as it is very limited....

Yes, but its the kind of thriller that the primetime tv channels hallmark and lifetime wants to do but doesnt dare to do in danger of loosing faithful viewers, due to the fact that there are gunslinging and devilish decieft and blood connected to them, and that scares at least half of the subscribers over to a cleaner network...

what im trying to say is that this crimeprime of a lifetime was just like a flat tv production, well known acting names and a decent done cameraskills, it gives nothing more than a meehh and a moehh storywise and with a lack of a DA that knows the law breaking code, everything stays just as they were after shooting 3 cops and a half.

So what i mean to say is , its not the acts ... and well there are loads of plotholes in the story that a sherlock nose would hate, so therefore do not put expectations too high, cause youll be hunting low too like the grumpy old man.just a small wink for this one.

General story is incredibly badly written. The premise is made on the idea that the main character has very little common sense. So, f you get annoyed by people choosing the most obviously wrong choice for an entire film, avoid this.

Overall a dull story and frustrating to watch it unfold without wanting the scream at the screen at every choice by the main character.

The acting itself isn't bad and the cast work well together but they are held back by the poorly written dialogue.

If you don't get annoyed by asinine decisions throughout a movie then you may enjoy this but I couldn't deal with it.

The Locksmith is a modest and competent attempt at the neo-noir genre with a twist of sentimental redemption. Directed by Nicolas Harvard, the movie opens with a failed robbery that leads to the death of one of the robbers and the theft of the loot by a corrupt cop named Zwick, played by Jeffrey Nordling. The protagonist, Miller Graham, is a former locksmith who spends ten years in prison for keeping quiet about Zwick's corruption.

Upon his release, Ryan Phillippe portrays Miller as a beaten down man who tries to rebuild his life with the help of his old friend Frank and his former fiancé Beth, who is now a police detective. The story takes a twist when Miller is asked by his former friend's daughter, April, to rob a local gambling party run by her abusive boss in exchange for starting a new life.

Although the film offers a new perspective by presenting a femme fatale without seduction, the plotline is still familiar and the web of associations drawn is too obvious. The message of the film, about never sending a man to do a woman's job, is different, but the filmmakers could have put it across with more enthusiasm. The movie is well-acted, but it fails to bring anything new to the neo-noir genre.