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.

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.

Let me start off by saying that I'm an independent film maker myself. I commend anyone with enough heart to make a movie, but now let's get down to business. 1st off, the trailer was amazing, so much so that it made me download and watch it. But once I started watching, I couldn't get pass the emotionless acting from the star of the film. Every time he opened his mouth, he made me more and more realize I was watching a low budget indie film.

But I doesn't stop there. Onto the supporting cast!! The female love interest was awful!!!!! with that silly broken English/Spanish accent..was it necessary? and then the cheesy Mexican drug lord character...come on! But listen, I'm not really here to bash a good attempt. I'm just here to give an honest review. So if you're here to see a good indie film, look again. At best you'll enjoy a few good moments.

So i'll give them an A+ for effort and a D for execution.

All the people reviewing it highly seem to do so because "it is an independent film" or "what they did with such a low budget"...

When a movie makes me feel bad for sitting there watching it, I'm going to log in and post a review by golly. It doesn't matter how much I just paid for a ticket or a rental fee, I would still get up and walk out. I stuck with it solely because I kept thinking, "with the reviews it has on IMDb, this must just be a bad part and it can't all be bad..." The closer it got to the end of the show, the more I couldn't wait for it to be over. It's that bad.

The chase scenes are not exciting, they give the feeling of driving under the speed limit and practically use turn signals -- "um, is he being chased or looking for a parking spot?".

The stereotypical beautiful woman stuck with the evil drug lord is beautiful, thus the extra star for the movie. But she confusingly ends up without being stereotypically treated by her evil drug lord and they appear together time and time again looking like nothing just happened to their relationship.

There are famous continuity errors that many people don't notice because the movie is keeping them immersed. When a movie distances me so much as I'm trying to watch it that I find I'm paying more attention to its writing, directing, editing, etc, I'm afraid it has failed as entertainment.

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.