Focus

Will Smith is back in Hitch: How to Get the Girl, Also Some Cash. There's overwhelming opulence, exotic setting and beautiful ladies at display here for the grand dramatization of thievery. It showcases a glamorous lifestyle, riches and ladies, portrayed by the charismatic leads. However, the movie recycles this material too often and having too much investment in lovey-dovey banters does wear the tension thin.

Story follows Nicky (Will Smith), a veteran thief who meets with Jess (Margot Robbie), an aspiring thief. Together they embark on a swindling journey, manipulating people and each other into giving what they want. Led by the charismatic Will Smith, Focus boasts an interesting anti-hero. He's very versatile, able to perform in comedic as well as more serious tone. Robbie has a wide range of acting too, she seems natural although sometimes leaning heavily on femme fatale cliché.

This is at heart a romance movie, with the backdrop of felony, not the other way around. The liaison aspect is scrutinized deeper than the actual thefts. This should be fine as both Smith and Robbie are capable leads, but it tends to lose momentum after the many times it uses "He loves me, he loves me not" gimmick. It's more of a light relationship than an intense trickery exchange, while pretty entertaining it's barely enough to keep the suspense.

The film possesses a stylish colorful cinematography. Design for costume and the vista are very suave, something out of a page of rich people magazine. It offers fantasy celebrity nuance, a brighter side of crime, so to speak. Its choice of soundtracks reflects it as well, playing classy tunes to serenade heist and courtship. While the plans might not be masterful, there are some good plot twists to unveil here.

With fascinating set and actors Focus is a decent drama film, but to reach thrilling suspense it needs to focus more on plundering instead of plowing.

Focus is a con movie and it's at its best when it's trying to con you into believing you know what is going to happen. The plot unfolds at a steady pace and you are left guessing what is going to follow. There are many twists and it's hard to keep up, as you would expect.

The regular cons work best in the first half, when the movie is trying to be fun and entertaining. During the second half of the movie the plot deepens and works around character development. That's when Will Smith and Margot Robbie come to life, they are at their best when they are given more to work with and they keep the movie interesting. However the movie gets caught juggling too many cons which by the end of the movie may feel just a bit flat; but still make for an unexpected and enjoyable finale.

Definitely worth watching. PS. The directors did a good job showing the importance of FOCUS in keeping the camera Focused at the right place.

The title "Focus" had potential among the quantitatively declining Con- Artist genre. Although brilliantly centered and set up with a decent cast and setting - the execution of intelligent criminal activity was poor and often justifying or explaining trickery and illusion as "he's just so good at it." - failing to satisfy the audience with an insight into the brilliance that is a con-centered plan.

I love heist movies. I love intricate con movies. I love crime movies and I'm sad to say this doesn't really come close to fitting anywhere between those genres best and brightest. Instead you're left feeling slightly amused, slightly tired, slightly relieved that it's over but kind of happy you saw it anyway - I dread to think how badly this movie would have been were it not for will smith.

-Focus (2015) movie review: -Focus is a crime flick that follows con-man Nicky, played by Will Smith, as he meets and trains a new counterpart Jess, played by Margot Robbie, in the ways of being a con-artist. This comes complete with twists, trust issues, rich people, and all kinds of Oceans 11 style problems.

-For what it was, I really enjoyed Focus. It has a few small problems, but was good.

-The story felt original and was hard to predict, making the twists even better and more shocking. Even if they were a tiny bit forced.

-The pace was really good for the first half, and the second half. But the first half is all fun and the second half is all plot. Neither was bad, but the second half was less fun.

-The acting is really good. Both Will and Margot did a great job! -The characters are deep and interesting. Will Smiths character especially had a lot to offer in the way of charisma and twists.

-The music was fitting and some of it was memorable.

-Another thing I liked was seeing the inside of the whole con-man thing you see in movies. Like stealing watches looks so much cooler in this because they explain it.

-Really the negatives are small. There are some inconsistencies and some added drama that takes the audience out of reality alittle, but it was compelling, well-made, and entertaining! There is not that much else to say, because Focus is worth seeing in theaters! -It is rated-R for some language, a moderate, but not heavy amount, and some brief sexual content. A PG-13 amount probably.

If you stopped for an hour and dissected this film you WILL find problems, like how the audience is meant to root for borderline sociopathic criminals or how the structure isn't what they're used to... HOWEVER, if you go in just expecting to be entertained and if you have a particular fondness for hustle movies, this is one enjoyable movie. The charming but not over-the-top humour consistently keeps the story entertaining and by not following the usual structure of a movie this kind, and ultimately the one the trailer promised, it offers something new to the mix. I can see the multiple twists as a turn off for some expecting a deeper film but if you know what you're in for I think the multiple twists in the film's final act will one-after-another bring a smile to your face and even have you laughing. Will Smith harnesses his charm to success in this flick and Margot has effectively proved herself as not being a one-hit-wonder. This is not a bad film, though I do believe your enjoyment hinges on your expectations when going into it. Don't expect the next Ocean's 11, expect a charming, funny, well acted, smartly written, hustle movie that will undoubtedly be drowned out by mixed reviews from people expecting gold and can't appreciate really good silver.