Allagash

It starts slow, but reasonably. Yet once the 'action' starts, all logic goes out the window. It's like the filmmakers decided to re-write the script once they got on location and the cold froze their brains.

Was it written by a bunch of high schoolers? The amount of stupid, unnatural, forced and illogical steps the characters take is an insult to the audience and all who are in it. Particularly our old man Tom. And he does seem very old. He should have skipped the trip, driven home and drank a cup of soup.

Actually this boring, lame movie rips off a far better film with it's plot twisting act, being The Aura from 2005. Watch that instead. Even if they went on location without a script they could have come up with something more realistic. You have to blame the director for sticking to the script. The only redeeming quality is the location. And the photography. 5 is generous. Lame as a dementia ridden chipmunk with frostbite.

...and I don't mean Tom Berenger as much as the movie itself. I suppose "Blood Money" was taken, so things were really freshened up with that "and" in the middle. The movie turned out to be as derivative as its name, besides the snowy and cold setting it ain't got much going on for it. In his full feature debut, John Barr seems to have optioned for imitating many other, better thrillers, because the story of "Blood and Money" is familiar, predictable, slowly dull and seriously uninspired.

Tom Berenger gives us Jim Reed - a grizzled, seen-it-all Vietnam war veteran with traumas in his past, and in his twilight years. Jim's spending his days in Northern Maine, hunting and trying not to drink, but things start going south when he stumbles upon a dead woman's body and a big bag full of cash. "Blood and Money" doesn't try to invent or reinvent anything, and is aware of it, but that doesn't help it much. Throughout its 85 minute runtime it feels like watching a film that's constantly trying to find heart, emotion, tension, but somehow manages to achieve the opposite, feeling dry, heartless in execution and completely devoid of surprises. In process, the pacing suffered greatly.

There are many odd flaws in the writing, I couldn't figure out why some characters do what they do, the motivation/response sometimes appeared to be unclear, unreasoned. Despite Jim Reed seemingly trying to do good, he did more questionable things, to say the least. An anti-hero? If so, still a shabby one. Berenger's seem to be a good fit for such a role, and does his best at channeling Jim Reed's world-weariness and the years of hardships on his shoulders. "Blood and Money" is mostly a one man's show, but the script only allows Tom to do so much.

Clearly, it's a B movie, and perhaps even a passion project. Cinematography doesn't exactly excel, but it's shot thoughtfully and tastefully enough, and the locations (Maine's endless forests, rural small town's aesthetic, snowy hills and caves, etc.) do a big part of the work, though explored on a level I'd call underwhelming. The action, as little of it as there was, also called for mixed feelings. If they tried for realism, they kind of missed the mark.

No matter how much I tried to get into it, the writing and pacing kept their offense, and the sum is such that I can't even really recommend this movie, except for die-hard fans of Tom Berenger and/or films set in wintery locations. My rating: 4/10.

I'm a fan of Tom Berenger so watched the whole 85 minutes of this movie. There is little dialogue and the 5 or 6 characters (Tom included) earn their money by simply walking around in the snow and shooting at each other. Tom tries very hard to be a tired and sickly old timer, Jim Reed, but it is painful to watch this excellent actor in such a crappy role. Clint could have done this better. He's older than Tom. This movie could have been edited to 60 minutes tops. It's terribly tedious and slow.

They are getting old, the supernovas that held our nerves back in the 70's and 80's. they do of course need butter on the bread too, so why not make another film in the glory of ageing, before the stars fades out to oblivion, though tom berenger will survive in the memory of 3 generations to come, he has had his glory moments....and his caracterisation effort in blood and money isnt a lowdown at all.

hes a hunter, searching maine for deers, till he takes a devastating blow of shooting a fur coated .....female, with a fortune of money in her baggage. , then the human hunt is on, with all his might and blood clothing cough of vanishing physical condition fading fast due to old age. no more i shall tell, just say its intense, but very very slow.

what makes me drool is the scripted story, and the choice of support cast to this film.its not at all good. then comes the score, wich can tell if its a good or bad movie. is it a synth score, well its a cheap and most surtainly a bad flick.

so mr. berenger, the grumpy old man remembers you best from lurking in the viatnamese jungel, so ending the show in the state of maine remaines to see if it was a success or not. its a small recommend, ive seen worse, and ive seen better features.

After seeing previous recent Berenger films I was beginning to think he had lost a bit of his Platoon sparkle but after watching this I can still say there is life in the old dog yet.

The film is your basic casino heist and search for for the cash in the winter mountains of Allagash but what makes this rise above the usual drivel is Berengers performance. Now either he is old , weak and frail in reality or he portrayed the role with perfection. You almost feel every step he takes, every wheeze that comes out of his mouth as he slowly and lugubriously makes his way through the carnage and you really feel for the character, I was egging him on; you just want the pace to move faster but it does not and that is its strength not its weakness as some other reviewers have pointed out. It feels like you the viewer are walking through molasses with him and that is a great achievement for any actor. The movie may be too slow for a lot of the crash, bang, wallop brigade but stick with it as it pulls no punches.

Stir in some zero mercy / zero compromise action which is rather unexpected in these days of political correctness and the despatch of the bad guys is carried off with Platoon-like viciousness which adds to the movies allure, it does not have the usual Hollywood happy ending which is always a bonus and gives the viewer a deft little twist at the end which I always like to see.

It is not going to win any oscars but it does prove that Berenger is still a force to be reckoned with and it gets a solid 6.5/10 from me as I thoroughly enjoyed it and so should you if you stick with it to the end.