Down and Dangerous

I saw this film on opening night film at the Phoenix Film Festival. I had followed the film's progress via Facebook and Kickstarter. I was looking forward to seeing what a group of driven filmmakers could do with a budget just under $50,000, which is really NOTHING in the world of film budgets.

The film is good, really good for a standard feature length film. But as an independent level film...it's truly great. Solid performances from the cast, high production value, great sound design, top level soundtrack and great twists and turns in a well written script, all contribute to make this a film that holds it's own against some of the uninspired flops that have recently graced the local multiplex.

The director, Zak Forsman, does a great job of making the world of drug running come to life. The script, which he also wrote, has some great "tricks of the trade" in the cocaine world and even some choice dialogue which was a refreshing change of pace from other films in this genre. It's well paced and has a really solid twist that I feel not many people will see coming. The film's lead, John T. Woods, holds the role with authority, making him much more than capable of being a Hollywood leading man, which I'm sure he's not far from becoming. One of the great standouts was the performance of Ross Marquand. His subtle rage and understated performance really shows he's got some chops.

Please understand that if we're comparing this film to say TRAFFIC or HEAT, even Forsman would say they've got a ways to go. But those films had almost unlimited resources at their disposal. Give Forsman the right budget and a few more stars and I'd say watch out folks...that's a film I'd definitely go see.

I went into the viewing not sure what to expect from the other reviews here, but whenever I see a movie that is written and directed by the same guy it sparks my interest so I gave it a chance and was very pleasantly surprised at how very good it is. Definitely the trailer helped to suck me in and I was very glad that the music from the trailer was actually in the movie as well. There have been some big budget films lately that had a great song on the trailer but then that music was nowhere to be found in the movie itself. The music is amazingly good futuristic techno, comforting when it needs to be and exciting when appropriate, reminds me of Daft Punk's soundtrack for the Tron: Legacy movie. If you want to actually compare this to million dollar budget movies, I think this could give some of them a run for their money. I was definitely far more entertained by this film than I was when I watched Ridley Scott's horrendous movie "The Counselor" which I was completely bored by. That film had great actors but the writing was very dull and did not appeal to my need for action. The very short sequences of action in that were designed to cater to our sadistic nature, which has shock value but is poor in taste, whereas in Down and Dangerous the excitement is built by the music and very good writing. I could not say enough about the writing, it was brilliant.

It is true there weren't very many conversations with the main character's friend who sits in jail but they're both smart guys, there isn't too much they need to say to each other even though I think I would have tried to build up the background to their relationship a little bit more since there are some unanswered questions left hanging in the air. Who is this guy and what is their connection to each other if they are both independent of anyone? It is a minor oversight that is insignificant compared to the bigger picture. The directing was good (although there was one sleeper hold sequence that looked just a few seconds too short to be believable, primarily everything was impeccably done) and the actors all did their jobs quite well. There were a few scenes where it seemed as though they were shooting on a digital camera that isn't as expensive as the super fancy ones, just slightly grainy, but it is so nice to watch a movie that is not completely done on green screens and all you ever see for two hours is the actors' faces. It feels more real when they are actually shooting video on a street or in a hotel. I saw another reviewer say they had a difficult time rooting for the anti-hero because he was in their eyes "poisoning people" but as for me, being a thinking person I liked the main character because he was a thinking person's anti-hero and his way of beating the bad guys is to outwit them using his smarts which he does so well that I was in tears at the end not because the acting was good, which it was, but because the writing was so great. It was like feeding a fresh bloody carcass to a ravenous wolf that hungers for better screen writing in movies than the romantic comedy type movies that have infected and destroyed the action genre I used to love so much. Okay, so the guy smuggled some coke across the border, okay he smuggled a lot of coke, but he never sold it to little kids and he wasn't like Rambo blowing apart the arms and legs of a hundred guys with a machine gun feeding our sadistic side, in fact the hero of this movie doesn't like to use guns on people at all ever even though he will shoot some drugs if he is forced to showing again his humanity and that he cares more for the girl than the drugs.

This movie really does fit right in with all the big Hollywood movies because they have something in common. In classical theatre, there is always a tragic ending, some moral or fate that can't be escaped. However the majority of movies these days all have a happy ending where the guy gets the girl the bad guys lose and they get to keep the money and live happily ever after the end. Of course I'm a romantic so I love the happy ever after stuff too even though that wars against my purist side that demands every hero should die at the end of the film or at least end up broke. It is true though that stranger tales have been made in real life where people steal huge sums of money and commit genocide and get away with it. Overall I think this movie was really very good and I will recommend it to my friends and most likely watch it again. I will also be looking for the soundtrack which I loved.

For an independent that probably was made for next to nothing the best description of Down and Dangerous is 'wow'. I won't build it up by trashing contemporary films, those made with traditional budgets and known actors, that isn't necessary. But, I will compare Director Zak Forsman's excellent effort to work by a young Michael Mann (Thief) or that of a mature Taylor Hackford (Parker). All things considered, it is certainly in that class of fine cinema.

Almost all of the performances are first rate, strong and believable. In particular, John Woods and Ross Marquand are fantastic in all ways, both bringing multiple dimensions to their roles from the first moment either appears on the screen.

Forsman's script is rich yet compact with little time wasted on moments that don't advance the story. He adds many small twists that not only are intriguing but also reveal key elements of each character as they are introduced in the body of the story. I think most viewers will be drawn to his movie from the very beginning and sustain strong interest throughout as the story moves fluidly and makes them interested in learning more.

There are several scenes, and moments in scenes that will simply grab you. If you like movies like I do then when you encounter what I am talking about not only will you know but you will find the movie has moved you a bit the way only a good movie can. In addition, the score in the aforementioned scenes will feel almost perfect to you. I intend to hunt down the soundtrack, and you will probably find yourself thinking the same.

So often Indy films are strong in a few areas, weak in others, and we make excuses because of budgets or unknown players or first time directors. None of that is necessary with Down and Dangerous. While I noticed two or three scenes that could have been done better and one of the lead performances (Rojas) that I would have recast such negatives aren't worth more than passing mention. I rated the movie 7 on IMDb and I am a very picky man, with 7 a high mark for me. This is truly the sort of movie that leaves you with the feeling you have really discovered something good, something you need to share with others. Thus, this review.

I am not a movie critic, however i do watch a lot of film, and felt the need to review on this movie. There are many things you can review or critic about a film, but many only matter if you have a budget. This film was done with almost no budget as a movie goes, and they managed to out perform so many big budget films on so many levels. Production quality, set design, music atmosphere, and storyline just to name a few. I felt like I was watching a card counter at the blackjack table, I knew they were setting me up the whole time, but i never quite saw it happen. Bravo, I am excited to see what you can do next, and i hope a big budget doesn't go to your head and you make many more great films.

Dear Zak Forsman

Your movie in the beginning gave me some kind of excitement that I haven't felt in a long time. Where mans movie is kind of revive in your trailer. I watch the film, and I read everybody else comments of your movie, and all I got to say is screw them. I would like to see those who thought your film suck, make something visually. I think you put as much you can to make this film awesome; though visually, the making of the film, and your two actor who I felt worthy on the acting John T. Woods, and Ross Marquand is what really made the film. I'm sorry but your actress that looks Mexican just didn't do justice on the accent, and that's including the drug-lord. Overall, I would like to know more of this character in the future, maybe a trilogy? Why not, I thought Mr. Woods kick ass.

Love the movie Benny.