Slow Burn

I remember growing up on films such as The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Fugitive, films with enough plot twists and turns to keep things fresh and interesting. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see excellent performances from an otherwise pieced-together cast of Ray Liotta, Taye Diggs, LL Cool J, Mekhi Phifer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and of course Jolene Blalock. I enjoyed every minute of this film whose score and choice of background, and especially credit, music made it all that much more memorable.

Personally, I love films in, around, or about the city. Without giving anything away, Slow Burn deals with corruption and a little gang-related mystery; all the while providing that sense of empathy for Liotta's character that seems all too absent in modern films today.

No, this film is not for everyone, but if you can remember what it was like to be genuinely stringed along and interested in what happens at every twist and turn of those 90's film plots, then you should find yourself feeling that you got you're 9.50's worth on a Friday night.

I had not heard of this movie when me and my friend picked it up at Blockbuster. It was between this and Be Kind Rewind and fortunately we chose this movie. Ray Liotta plays a district attourney running for mayor when his DA is raped by a supposed psychotic music store clerk and then murders him. Liotta is taken on a roller coaster of a mystery where you don't know who is telling the truth and if everyone is who they say they are. There are so many twists and turns that it becomes confusing at points but it all adds up to the ending which relieves your confusion. I haven't heard of Jolene Blalock but she is excellent in her role as the supposedly raped(was she or wasn't she?) DA who may have some tricks up her sleeve. The only thing i had a problem with was some of the dialouge. LL Cool J's ramblings about everything smelling like food was a bit strange. Other than that it was awesome

Here's a film that might have been a classic. The story had all the elements. But the direction could have been better and the main actress wasn't up to the material. The supporting actors didn't help either. With a different cast and a different director this might have been great. That being said, it is still worth a look.

I rented this movie because of the actors involved - Ray Liotta, LL Cool J, Taye Diggs, Mekhi Phifer and the great Bruce McGill. However, the movie basically bored and confused me simultaneously. To put it simply, it's just too messy. The movie touches on some interesting subjects and has some potential - but the end result is, well, quite a mess.

Slow Burn seems to be quite inspired by "The Usual Suspects" - which is by no means a bad thing. But it all just gets too convoluted. I lost track of the tricks the movie tried to pull to surprise the audience toward the end. It seemed pretty forced as did all the flashbacks throughout the film. I will, however, give the movie credit for "hiding" the bad guy really well - I didn't guess who it was, despite being a big movie buff. The actors all do their jobs just fine, though I think LL Cool J was somewhat miscast.

All in all I would not recommend this movie. I guess there is a reason it was held back for 2 years ;-)

SLOW BURN is a film that has much to like, much promise, and a cast of trusty actors to bring it off. The problem with the result is in director/writer Wayne Beach's hands and especially in the editing job on the completed film. It is like watching a 'follow-the-bouncing-ball' film: there are many surprises and subplots and altered identities that keeping a score card of where the story is going is a bit difficult.

Reduced to the bare bones the plot takes place in a 24 hour period during which District Attorney Ford Cole (Ray Liotta) and his Assistant DA Nora (Jolene Blalock) are in a showdown with a significant crime boss Luther Pinks (LL Cool J). Nothing is as it seems, as irritating flashbacks attempt to prove, and in the end the good guys and the bad guys are difficult to appreciate. There are some excellent performances by reliable actors such as Taye Diggs, Mekhi Phifer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Bruce McGill, but the plot depends on a significant point of the confused racial identity of Jolene Blalock's character, and though she acts well, the part would have been better served by an actress like Nicole Ari Parker, to name just one.

The problem with this supposedly enigmatic thriller is that the astute viewer will see through the plot far too early. But given the quibbles, it is good to see these actors at work, especially the underused Ray Liotta. Grady Harp