Noche de venganza

The two decades on either side of the new millennium seem to have been the heyday of movies about corrupt cops. After some pretty corny cop movies in the 1980s, 1990 started off its decade pretty well with "Q & A" and "Internal Affairs". As we moved through the 90s, Hollywood served up "Bad Lieutenant", "Unlawful Entry", "Léon: The Professional", "Cop Land" and the Best Picture Oscar nominee "L.A. Confidential". In the first decade of the 21st century, we got a chance to enjoy Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning performance in "Training Day", followed by the underrated pair "Cellular" and "16 Blocks" and, of course, the Best Picture Oscar winner "The Departed". The current decade has given us less popular dirty cop movies like "Rampart" and "The Place Beyond the Pines". 2017's "Sleepless" (R, 1:35) has things in common with the corrupt cop movies of the previous decade and those of the 90s.

The movie opens with Las Vegas police partners in crime prevention (and crime), Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and Sean Cass (T.I.) stealing a bag of cocaine from a group of hooded thugs that they unceremoniously dispatch in the process. When their sergeant is assigning a team to investigate the homicide scene, Downs and Cass convince him to give them the case. Meanwhile, in the same department, Internal Affairs detective Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) is recovering from a drug bust gone wrong. Bryant's partner, Doug Dennison (David Harbour) and the police psychologist express concern for Bryant's mental and physical state, but she insists on getting back to work. Bryant is also investigating the aforementioned drug murder because shell casings from police ammunition were found at the scene. As the story progresses, Bryant becomes convinced that Downs isn't what he seems.

Things get dicier when it is revealed that the cocaine that Downs and Cass stole belongs to casino owner Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney). Rubino sends more masked thugs to kidnap Downs' son, Thomas (Octavius Johnson) and demands that Downs bring the drugs to his casino if he ever wants to see his son again. As Downs is trying to hide his son's predicament from the teen's mother, Dena (Gabrielle Union), the person for whom Rubino was transporting the drugs, ruthless local crime boss Robert Novak (Scott McNairy) comes looking for his coke. All this drama descending upon Rubino's casino is compounded when Bryant and Dennison, who have been following Downs, show up at the casino and work to figure out what's going on. This leads to a series of escalating confrontations and rising stakes for all involved.

"Sleepless" is entertaining, but forgettable and fails to live up to its potential. This is a remake of the 2011 French thriller "Sleepless Night", but can't match that film's adept storytelling and high tension. Several plot points in this American version are suspect at best, although the excellent cast helps draw you in and there are a couple decent twists late in the story. The plotting feels like a throwback to genre movies of the late 80s and early 90s and the overall quality is as unremarkable as the corrupt cop tales from earlier in the 2010s. "Sleepless" is good enough to keep you awake and somewhat engaged, but it isn't impactful enough to keep you up at night thinking about it. "B-"

I think the other reviews forgot to mention the great cinematography, lighting in the scenes and suspensful sound/music, and for the most part good acting, that lifts this action packed thriller story from average and gives it a nice dark edge and some bite. Turn down the lights and turn up the sound and get ready for action.

First and foremost , this movie is not very fresh. One simply cannot pin point the exact movie with which Sleepless bears uncanny resemblance. Not because there are none , but because that are many.

I shall not divulge any spoilers here but long story short , the movie is directed in the fashion of some 80's and 90's cop movies. Having said that , the director failed to synergize the elements of a good 90's thriller and a 21st century flick.

The result is a fairly confused movie , with strange action scenes, insipid dialogue, textbook movie characters no comic elements , not the slightest trace of wry or even dark humour.

Designed to have the elements of mystery ( the who is who? kind) , the director misuses his actors and and the plot.

However,for some reason the movie keeps the interest alive. One knows that around the corner there lies a very ordinary sequence and typical dialogue but still the straightforward narrative succeeds in holding your attention .

I cannot pan the movie because it is ordinary and unimpressive . So much so, in fact, that one can tolerate it, to pass time.

I watch movies to be entertained, Sleepless definitely did that. While not at the top of its class when it comes to crime action/drama, it had a lot going for it in my opinion. The fight scenes were well done, the scenery was dark but was still able to show off the glitz and glamour that Vegas is known for, and the story-line wasn't half bad. I was expecting to see a bit of Collateral in this, and I feel like that's what I got only with a bit more action and less Tom Cruise.

Don't go in thinking you're going to be seeing some Oscar worthy film, that isn't what this is. If you are expecting to watch a good crime action flick with Jamie Fox kicking ass then you will be happy with what you see.

In Las Vegas, Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and partner Sean Cass (T.I.) steal a shipment of cocaine. They turn out to be police detectives and Vincent volunteers to investigate the battle in the street. Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) and Doug Dennison (David Harbour) from Internal Affairs are brought in on the case. Vincent is estranged from his son and his ex Dena Smith (Gabrielle Union) is newly engaged. He is surprised to find out that Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney) and mob-related Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy) are the owners of the drug shipment. Then his son is kidnapped by them.

This is a crime action thriller in the vein of a Michael Mann movie. There are some good action with one particularly fun fight scene. The cast is good enough and it has the potential to be a solid crime thriller. The problem is that the movie never makes me care about Vincent and I never do. There are also some logic problems although logic may not be a big sticking point. This has all the parts but fails to put them together.