6 Ways to Die

I rarely rate a movie so low because... let's face it, there are few movies worse that this out there that I try to watch. I chose 6 Ways to Sundown because of Vinnie Jones and Bai Ling. Love them both, but guys, why did you do this to me?

From the very start one feels that something is not quite right. The dialogue is overly pompous, without adding anything to the story, the film is divided in chapters, the chapters are presented in a reverse order, there are flashbacks that need other flashbacks to explain and so on. The film is screeching "Wait for the twist! It's going to blow your mind". If you got this far into the review, trust me, it is not going to blow your mind.

Then everything is really really badly made. The people dancing in the club of the "most notorious drug dealer in North America" are dancing worse than I do. That's bad! The productions values are low. The acting is bad. Vinnie Jones spends all of his 5 minutes of acting in a car, Bai Ling is beautiful as ever, but she barely does anything, Tom Sizemore (which I really dislike anyway) dies in the first few minutes and Vivica A. Fox... why are they hiring her anymore is beyond me. And these are the best actors in the movie.

Bottom line: a complete and utter waste of time. It's always risky to watch something written and directed by the same guy, but this is not even so bad it's funny, like The Room.

This film may have a few name action stars such as Vinnie Jones, Tom Sizemore and Bai Ling, but it is a home made film written and directed by a nobody wannabe named Nadeem Soumah. The action is non existent and the murder for hire scenario(s) is about as dull as a plastic knife attempting to cut through concrete.

Vinnie Jones narrates the background story going back in time at 2 week intervals. If you have watched Vinnie Jones in the two prior Guy Ritchie writer/director films, the 1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels , and the 2000 film Snatch then you know what a good film looks like. I think the writer/director of 6 Ways to Die, Nadeem Soumah, may have used a ghost writer to write this MESSterpiece which he thought in his own mind would be an award winning film NOT!!!!!!

Avoid it because the film is a mess.

Did not want to dislike '6 Ways to Die'. It was again not a bad, if not new, premise and Vinnie Jones has given alright performances in the past. It had potential to work, and would have done with effort being obvious and like those in front of and behind the camera had their hearts in it.

Unlike most other films starring or featuring Jones recently, '6 Ways to Die' did show effort. It just did it badly. Have seen worse films, recently and ever, but that doesn't stop '6 Ways to Die' from being a very poor film with no redeeming traits and a lot of things done absolutely terribly. There is not much to add to what has been said very well already and the review is at the risk of repeating what has been said. Just for the record, '6 Ways to Die' was watched with an open mind and not without the intent or want to dislike, let alone hate, the film, quite the contrary.

'6 Ways to Die' has very little going for it, but it deserves some credit for actually trying and putting some effort in.

The setting is okay and the thing that comes off least badly.

Sadly, it is a case of that '6 Ways to Die' tries too hard. The story has too many strands and such and does nothing with any of them, making the storytelling come over as over-complicated and sometimes incomprehensible with no development to any of them whatsoever. The archetypal ciphers passing for characters are very difficult to care for or endear to, with no attempt at development and with too little personality or likeability. Some of them even are unnecessary.

Moreover, the script is verbose, awkward-sounding and very pompous. This self-indulgence is similarly seen from start to finish in the photography and editing, which also tend to be repetitive. The music is forgettable at best and the acting is not really worth mentioning with the all-round badly used (most under-utilised and some pointless, especially a completely wasted Vivica A. Fox) cast giving performances completely lacking in vigour or intensity. Jones is one of the biggest examples of this. Michael Rene Walton comes off best.

Overall, very bad. 2/10 Bethany Cox

This is a prime example where less is more. The movie executes multiple perspectives and subplots to the point of exhaustion. It follows John Doe (Vinnie Jones) as he sets intricate plans for revenge by hiring six different conmen or assassins. Each of them reveals a facet of the target, along with occasional flashback and branching story, all of which ultimately end in an uninspiring conclusion.

With six hit men following their own respective plot, this is basically six short stories woven together, but not in consistent fashion. It's not an intersecting story like Snatch or even Smokin' Aces, there are many perspectives and timelines, yet they don't mesh together that well. It even feels fragmented since each hit-man has limited screen time, not enough to establish their character for overall continuity.

Cinematography is done with too much focus on style, the movie repetitively pans over to the same shots of night club, flashback or slow motion gun shot. Prepare to see these scenes again and again throughout the movie as though it wants to be edgy so badly, instead it becomes tiresome later on.

The cast is pretty presentable, action fans would be pleased to see the Vinnie Jones or Vivica A. Fox. The characters are made to cater flamboyant lifestyle with extravagant personalities and attractive ladies. This might appeal to viewer who like exaggerated hit-man or noir style, although the movie could've worked better with lighter tone or more constructed plot.

It tries to produce intense display of a revenge tale as it delves into different aspects of the target's life, yet it's gradually becoming shallower as it progresses. Furthermore, the ending feels forced, making it a needlessly complicated and boring spectacle.

Sundown can be beautiful. Or it can be deceiving, because it's getting dark and you're not sure what you're seeing. Or it's just a character name ... is it though? One thing is for sure, the script tries to be very clever and the amount of people acting in this, that you might know from other movies is incredible.

So while this isn't Tarantino and it's not really magic, it is kind of entertaining if you let it be. As I said, the story is complex and the time-lines get a bit tangled up (some might actually watch it again for the whole experience), but overall it's a decent low budget effort with some quality actors in it.