Underworld

I picked up this movie for a few dollars at a local discount store in town. It advertised Denis Leary & Joe Mantegna, plus the box promised "In the style of The Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs". I bought it and threw it on my DVD shelf, not really thinking about it. But last night I was in the mood for some crime, so I threw it in.

I really don't know what to say. The film just kind of falls flat with a whole lot of unnecessary dialogue. I think they were trying to go for a Tarantino thing by having incredibly long scenes of Leary explaining where he wants his money to go or the beauty of Rodgers and Hammerstein, but while somewhat humorous in the end it just seems like padding. That's not to say Leary makes it boring, quite the opposite. Leary is well known for his tirades. And for what he has to work with, he actually keeps the long dialogue bits somewhat watchable.

Joe Mantegna does his best, but his role just isn't very well written. He's mostly there to be a quiet straight-man for Leary's insane ramblings. When given a chance he has shining moments, but those are few and far between.

But as for the rest of the film, it just kind of falls flat without any fanfare. The script is too long and kind of confusing, if only for the fact that major plot points are surrounded by stilted dialogue chunks so you can't really pay attention to grab hear them. Editing is very by the book, however there's a few aesthetically pleasing moments of lighting and direction that might surprise you.

All in all, if you're a strong fan of either Leary or the modern crime genre, it's worth a look for only it's hour and a half run time. But if you have something better or just not in the mood, this film isn't going to turn any heads.

This entire movie takes place in the dark, which is unfortunately where it leaves the viewer unfortunate enough to waste his time watching "Underworld". This is exactly the kind of movie that is easy to hate. It introduces endless characters with no development. People we don't know are getting shot for no reason. The film is supposedly hip, but in reality is nonsensical, long, boring, self important crap. No police are involved, even though gangland assassinations are taking place on a schedule that makes Al Capone look like a small time hood. The dialog is repetitive nonsense that has nothing to do with what is on the screen. This is a totally failed film that should be avoided. - MERK

This is one of the best black comedies that I have ever seen!

Oh, it's highly, highly, highly underrated!

I've found the tape in action and in drama, but never in comedy, where I feel that it belongs!

Take for example the first scene involving the Red Car: Slow buildup, absolutely bloody execution, glass and flesh everywhere; and then an approving nod and the gunner exclaiming in nonchalant fashion "This is gonna be the best goddamn father's day I've ever had."

It doesn't stop there. We have the execution of a beyond-amazingly beautiful girl (Traci Lords) for nearly nothing other than a bored antagonist's whim; we don't even really know if she's suspected of cheating on him... he's just... bored.

Add to this a hilarious bar scene that might begin something like "a bunch of assassins walked into a bar..."... they're tired of waiting, so they clean their guns... they're bored at the delay, so they shoot the bottles; they're frustrated at their employer's procrastination, so they pull out automatic weapons and unload on the bar, the bartender... and finally the outright hilarious shot of the scariest of them putting a gun to his head: they shoot each other.

Yes, it's terribly violent; yes, it's not for everyone. But this is the one of the most fabulously overlooked films ever! Awesome!

Check it out, but ignore the section you found it in.

If there was a list to mark the worst movies in history (actually there is on this page), I think Underworld could probably top that list. Given, Denis Leary put on a great job, shooting people and making wisecracks, the movie had no direction and I don't even think the director knew what the hell to do with it. This script belongs in a wastebasket. When one man makes your movie somewhat (remember I said somewhat) watchable.....there's problems.

GRADE: F

Quirky crime drama from the director of "Battlefield Earth" is surprisingly good. Written by Larry Bishop, who made the under appreciated retro biker film "Hell Ride," is overly talkie at times, but the story of recently released ex-con Denis Leary looking for revenge on the man who killed his father, but who ends up using his psychoanalyst skills he learned in prison to help his father's killer, Joe Mantegna, become a better person is rather funny and clever at times. The film also features a strong cast that includes Annabella Sciorra, Abe Vigoda, Traci Lords, James Tolkan, and Bishop, which helps to overcome the film's faults.