The Death and Life of Bobby Z

I recently rewatched Bobby Z (2007) on Tubi. The storyline follows a former marine who is about to be sentenced to jail but gets an opportunity to escape his situation by impersonating a notorious drug dealer in a drug bust operation. However, things quickly spiral out of control, leading the marine to flee from both a drug cartel and the US government...

Directed by John Herzfeld (Don King: Only in America), this picture stars Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Olivia Wilde (Don't Worry Darling), Jason Flemyng (Deep Rising), and Chuck Liddell (Kick Ass 2).

This is a very straightforward and predictable addition to the action genre. The acting is somewhat uneven, causing some scenes to feel more authentic than others. However, Chuck Liddell was perfectly cast as a villain, and Laurence Fishburne's performance straddled the line perfectly, keeping viewers guessing about his character's intentions until the very end. Some of the fight scenes were enjoyable, and the shootouts were as expected.

In conclusion, Bobby Z is an average addition to the action genre that's worth watching once, but it doesn't offer anything particularly special. I would score it a 5/10.

Paul walker, who died in 2013. He had made all those fast and furious films. He's tim kearney, just out of prison. Agent grusza (laurence fishburne) wants him to pretend to be the dealer bobby z so a hostage swap can be made. It's all pretty silly. The bad guys are all just terrible shots.. .they never seem to hit kearney, his horse, or bobby's son. And it moves so slowly...long pauses. And who says "he's heading south by southwest" ?? No-one. Maybe sailors. Most of the script is just silly and unlikely. And the feds don't really want kearney to succeed, for some reason. And it's so convoluted, we can see why. Imdb states this was filmed in 2005, but wikipedia says it was released in 2007, and went directly to video. Not usually a good sign. Directed by john herzfeld. Based on the book by don winslow. I'll give this one a "just okay".

I saw this movie last night at a special screening for audience feedback. Paul Walker really can act - I was pleasantly surprised. I originally thought he was only cast for his looks, but can see he has good acting abilities.

Movie was funny, worked well and I enjoyed it. The action scene in the kitchen was great and intense, kept me on the edge of my seat.

Lawrence Fishburn - as always - great! He's a solid actor and his role as the DEA Agent worked perfectly.

Paul's pretty love interest (Olivia Wilde from the OC)chemistry was lacking.

Chuck Liddell, although was only in the beginning of the movie was convincing. There was also a girl named Ashley who I would have like to see more of. She's hot!

The kid looks like he'll have a career ahead of him. The relationship between the kid and Paul Walker worked well and was believable. Not sure where I've seen him before, but he may have a promising career.

I liked the sequence of the movie - it starts with a mystery and the flashback kept me trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I liked the movie can't wait to see on see it on the big screen. Hope if comes out soon.

The plot: Kearny, a loser convict,is pushed into impersonating Bobby Z, a larger-than-life drug dealer, in a hostage trade, only to find both his own and Bobby Z's enemies trying to kill him.

Herzfeld previously directed 2 Days in the Valley, a Tarantino ripoff if ever there was one. However, unlike most people, I actually kind of liked it. This movie is another attempt to clone Tarantino's style, heavy on flashbacks, stylized violence, and witty anti-heroes. Unfortunately, it's not all that great, but it did manage to keep my interest for the runtime.

Bobby Z is built up as a small-time celebrity in the local surfer scene, as well as a rising star in drug distribution. Kearney, on the other hand, is a three time loser with a price on his head. The movie compares and contrasts their personalities many times, with Bobby Z being revealed as a manipulative, egocentric jerk, while Kearney shows many admirable qualities despite his impulsive violence.

After a somewhat grim opening, the movie becomes quite lighthearted. In fact, I'm really at a loss as to why they even opened the movie with such a dark and disturbing bit of character development if they were just going to completely ignore it for the rest of the film. Oh well. Much of the movie is like this, however. Whenever anything shocking and dramatic happens, it's instantly forgotten by the next scene, where everyone pretends that it never happened. Even being shot seems to be glossed over rather quickly with some cursory first aid. It reminded me of a video game, where picking up a first aid kit heals your character of all wounds.

The acting was passable. It was certainly better than many direct-to-video movies, but nobody really stood out. I guess the script didn't really allow anyone to shine, though I was probably most disappointed that Laurence Fishburne was given such a bland role. Still, it's always fun to see him, even if it's in such a small and clichéd role.

If you're looking for an action movie, this will probably satisfy you, but I'd be surprised if you remembered it later or recommended it to your friends.

I don't know if the story was intended like that but for half a movie things are vaygly explained to the point one would think the movie is bad, even dough everything is explained I believe they could have done that differently. There are some scenes where Director, John Herzfeld, was careless and it shows for example the relationship between the main character and the boy progress very unrealistic and rushed. More love could have gone in the script.

What can we say about the actors, legends. Paul Walker is right at home with the character, Laurence Fishburne is a bit out of his usual role here, but he manages it just fine and Olivia Wilde my God that Olivia Wilde's beauty is simply unmatched back in those days, she fits the role greatly and is not just show and no go, she does great.

There are very little special effects here and are all practical effects so that's a plus, but the camera work is average at best, some poor angle choices and camera stills, there are a couple of "that will do's" here and there.

This is a pizza movie in any day of the week, I don't think it's a weekend movie.

Enjoy!!